


Solangelo AUctober

by nicostolemybones (fatherlords)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: 31 days 31 fics, I know the formatting isn't great, M/M, but seriously this has taken a month to write, so please be kind, solangelo, this took ages, trigger warnings before each fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 07:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21249452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatherlords/pseuds/nicostolemybones
Summary: Every prompt for AUctober, badly formatted into one long single chapter fic bc I spent too long working on it and got lazy with the posting. But for real, this took ages and I'm proud so be kind please. A collection of ficlets based on daily prompts for Halloween!Will post these in a better format againI do not give permission for my work to appear on any apps nor do I consent to my work being reposted anywhere. If you see my work outside of my tumblr or outside of any blogs/accounts I mention in my fics, please report/contact them or inform me. If you report them, do not report as if it were your own work.My tumblr is @nicohasahappymeal





	Solangelo AUctober

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this took me all month, I’ve done all 31 prompts, and put them into one post, this took hours to complete, and I hope you enjoy my takes on the AUctober prompts!  
Disclaimer: If there’s something potentially triggering I say before each ficlet below the prompt. Please feel free to skip accordingly.

SOUL BOND

(Emotions mentioned in order: indifferent, panic, distress, depression, hope, anger, neurotic, mania, affection, lust (no sex takes place ofc), shame, paranoia, vulnerability, love.)

Nico’s life was indifferent. He didn’t particularly feel anything. Not happy, not sad, not excited, not angry, not anxious, indifferent. No matter what happened to him, he felt nothing. It was bliss, sometimes, after so much trauma, not to feel anything at all. But he hated the fact that he couldn’t see the world like some did, like Percy and Annabeth did, in happiness and joy and euphoria. His mind kept circling back to how Zeus was said to have split everybody in half, into man and woman, soulmates. That panicked Nico- he might not feel emotions, but he was very aware of his admiration of the male form. It wasn’t a feeling- he couldn’t feel anything- but it was a deepset knowledge, a subconscious preference he couldn’t erase. So Nico had resigned himself to a life without emotion- he’d accepted that he’d never find a soulmate, never feel, never know happiness or sadness or anything.

That was, of course, until Will Solace came dramatically crashing into his life. Well, it’s more like Nico crashed into his life, quite literally, when he crashed his motorbike and ended up in hospital. 

The first emotion Nico felt was panic. He couldn’t move, tubes and machines that seemed bigger than him holding him in place out of fear that moving could disrupt whatever they were doing to keep him alive. Fear because he had never known emotions, and now his body was flooded with a warm off feeling, like nothing was right, that seemed to come deep within his bones, radiating through his chest and bubbling up, anxious effervescence, pounding puse, pounding head, ribs squeezing, everything too hot, too tight, too loud, too bright, too overwhelming. Nothing made sense apart from the sense of impending doom.

The second emotion Nico felt was distress. He couldn’t label it any other way- it was this deep feeling like the air was knocked out of his lungs that everything was wrong, everything, nothing was right, nothing was as it should be, nothing was as it was supposed to be. Everything felt like it was collapsing, cities falling to dust without a sound, collapsing down on him, and he was trapped.

The third emotion Nico felt was depression. A deep lukewarm muted feeling inside, one that resonated and rippled into an intense dark cloud, one that brought everything negative into perspective under a microscope, magnified and burned like an ant under a looking glass. It was the feeling that no matter what, nothing would ever be right, and everything was futile. Life was futile. All of it, worthless, worth nothing, because everything was crumbling and he was numb. He was stood warm in the rain, looking into the party, unable to get in, unable to explain that he could never join in, because he couldn’t feel like that, the only joy a spring coiled deep within its core too tight to unleash unless to explode in a mania of irrationality and terrifying euphoria.

The fourth emotion Nico felt was hope, but it was so small, so worthless, that he couldn’t see the point in it, because everything about it felt false, felt fake, felt insignificant.

The fifth emotion Nico felt was anger, bubbling up and exploding from somewhere inside, a hot feeling of consuming fire, a deep weight that felt weightless. He wanted to set the world on fire, because something was making his blood boil and his skin crawl, but what? It didn’t matter, because the senseless rage consumed him like a pillar of fire and he didn’t know why, didn’t care why, some kind of guttural, primal scream bubbling up and festering. He felt like he could explode into freedom, fight his way to liberation, shout and have his voice heard. He felt invulnerable.

The sixth emotion Nico felt was neurotic, a deep anxiety, one that bubbled and spilled over in the most terrifyingly liberating way- a feeling of fuck it, the world is collapsing and I collapse with it, the cold bitter irony of what I wished not being what I lived, laughter, angry laughter, bitter laughter at the cold truth. The anxiety melted the anger and replaced it with some kind of existential dread, but one that came with a feeling of deep insanity.

The seventh emotion Nico felt was mania. It was more than euphoria, and it was terrifying. Suddenly nothing mattered and caution was a relic. Suddenly everything was bright and fast and insignificant and everywhere, waves of intense joy and fear and a lack of inhibitions and a lack of self regulation. He felt like he was everything and everyone, all powerful, all knowing. He felt like a god amongst mortals, indestructible, untouchable, bulletproof, titanium. He was spinning on a carousel slowly getting faster and he wanted to stop but the waves of adrenaline, spiking euphoria, made it addictive. He dreaded the day it ended, figuring that the end of this feeling would be the end of the world.

The eighth emotion Nico felt was affection, pure, overwhelming, so euphoric and so high that everything felt good, because his heart was squeezing and in that moment he knew that his whole world was tan freckles and cobalt eyes, constellations of sunrise and golden curls. He knew he’d die happy if he died with his heart hammering in his chest, every coherent thought lost, drowning in the ethereal beauty in front of him. He would protect this boy, protect this angel, because he knew that this boy was why he lived and he couldn’t imagine being without this boy. He just wanted to take him in his arms and hold him close, forever and always. Puppy love, infatuation, ready to blossom and bloom into a palace of emotions.

The ninth emotion Nico felt was lust, a muted throbbing that sank into his core, contracting muscles and warm pits of coiled tension, slowly blocking out all coherent thought, primal, raw, frustratingly unfamiliar yet familiar, instinctual drives and a need for something, anything, he didn’t know what, he only knew that this feeling could only lead somewhere in ecstacy. He felt waves of adrenaline at the downright taboo and sinful thoughts crossing his mind, the automatic cascade of thoughts and feelings that crescendoed into shivers and heat, throbbing contractions and twitchy tingles, spasms and sighs.

The tenth emotion Nico felt was shame. Shame because this wasn’t how he was supposed to be, wasn’t how he was supposed to feel. A deep set onslaught of wrong, dirty, sinful, embarrassed and degraded, defiled by his own mind and own thoughts and his own emotions. Shame inbuilt by years of self-hatred and prejudice and propaganda and rhetoric and discourse, toxic poison in his blood, a deep heat that rose to the surface, puce, mortified, like he wanted to hide, so exposed and vulnerable, clown makeup, clown shoes, clown clothes, laughter, descending into brimstone. It felt like everybody knew every last dirty little secret he had, like it was always visible. They know.

The eleventh emotion Nico felt was paranoia, because They Know, They Know, They know, everybody knows, who knows, somebody, I’m nobody, are you nobody too, what do you know, what makes you think I’m somebody what must you know that I don’t know you know to make you so intrigued? What if the world knew, knew the pit of his shame, his deepest secrets, his most embarrassing moment, what if everybody knew? They know. Know what. They know. Oh gods, they know and they’re out for blood. Resistance is futile when they already know, in your closet, in your head.

The twelfth emotion Nico felt was vulnerability, pathetic, weak, open, stronger than ever. Everything had collapsed, and now he was open. He felt like his soul was open, his mind was open, like he could finally let go of everything, exposed, safe. He felt like he could spill every secret, pour his heart out, talk about his troubles until dusk and cry it out if he needed to. 

And it all happened at once, one at a time, slowly and all too fast, a microsecond into a minute, an overwhelming symphony of everything he’d never felt. And all he’d seen was his face, for the first time, his soulmate.

The thirteenth emotion Nico felt was love, months after the overwhelming, embarrassing, exciting first sight of his soulmate, laid up in bed with a bowl of soup. He’d gotten a cold, and Nico was laid up in bed. And Will had made him some soup, and it tasted terrible. But Will was so concerned and so eager to help, so full of affection, and Nico couldn’t help but fall so deeply in love with Will. Feeling emotions for the first time had been terrifying, too much, and it had been the same for Will too. Both finally got to grieve for lost ones, had the misfortune of reliving trauma without an emotional disconnect, realised that perhaps they weren’t as stable as they hoped they’d be. But no matter what they felt, finally having a soulmate felt right. Feeling emotions for the first time when you saw your soulmate was terrifying, but Nico figured it was worth it, because he was convinced his soulmate was a sun angel.

SERVICE INDUSTRY

(retail work, plus-sized Will dealing with fatphobia) 

Will hated working in retail. Customers were rude, and today, he was dealing with a Karen situation, a middle aged mom demanding to speak to the manager because the plus size department didn’t have a size eight. 

“Look, ma’am, that department is for plus sized customers, designed by plus sized people for plus sized people. You won’t find a size eight in here. But you can find a size eight literally anywhere else in the shop.”

“I demand to speak to your manager! This is dIscrimination! You have fat privilege!”

“Ma’am, this is the last time I’m going to tell you this, this is one small department in a whole shop, the rest of the shop is full of size eights, resources for other people do not mysteriously consume all the resources for the majority. There are still thousands of items of clothes for you in this shop. If there are nine size eights and there is one size twenty, there are still nine size eights and there is still only one size twenty. Resources made for people who aren’t the same as you do not take away from the quantity of resources available for people like you.”

“I demand to speak to the manager right now! I do not have the patience for this! I’m due in court in an hour to take the kids!”

“I’m the manager,” Will announced with satisfaction, and Karen stared for a moment.

“Then I demand to speak to the owner.”

Will drew a sharp intake of breath, preparing for his favourite part of dealing with customers. “Then I hope you make peace with whatever god you have,” Will said, leaning over the counter, “because I’m the owner!” The Karen stormed off, muttering something about fat propaganda and court. Will took a deep breath, preparing for the next customer.

“Hi,” Will greeted in a cheerful voice, “how may I help you?”

“I uh-” the boy cleared his throat. “My sister’s birthday is coming up and none of the other shops sell anything above a size ten, and my sister is a size fourteen. She doesn’t feel pretty and I want her to feel pretty. But I don’t know anything about women’s clothes or anything. I was wondering if I could request the personal shopper service?”

“Of course,” Will beamed, glad to see that so far, the customer wasn’t a jerk. He was also handsome. He called out to his colleague Frank, who took over at the till whilst Will took the boy deeper into the shop. “Does she have a favourite colour?”

“She likes purple and gold,” the boy replied.

“Is she comfortable in a dress or a skirt?”

“No,” he replied, and Will nodded. 

“Does she like tops with a low neckline or a high neckline?”

“Somewhere in the middle,” the boy replied.

“Sleeves?”

“Short sleeves.”

“Right,”Will said, picking out a few purple and gold tops that fit the criteria, “what do you think she’ll think of these? Oh and- we’ll buy the pants from the men’s department, the sizes are more consistent and the fabric is less likely to wear or break at the seams from chub rub, plus they fit the waist better.” He laid them out on a seat, and the boy stared for a second. 

“I think one and two are a bit tacky and night clubby. My sister’s the kind of badass who rides a horse and could gut a man like a fish if she wanted but she’s also a cinnamon roll and she’s into witchcraft and she’s your colleague's girlfriend.”

“Your sister is Hazel Levesque?”

“Yeah,” the boy replied.

“So you must be Nico di Angelo!”

“Uh- yeah…?”

“It’s so nice to meet you, I’m Will!”

“Wait a minute,” Nico sighed, “she set us up.”

Will was almost happy, until he remembered how many cute people were repulsed by him and turned him down. “I’m sorry she uh- inflicted me on you,” Will said, trying to laugh it off.

“You uh- you seem really sweet,” Nico said with a blush, “and you’re cute.”

“Nico, it’s okay, you don’t have to pretend to like me to make my sister happy or to not offend me,” Will said quietly, and Nico stared at him like he’d just said fish have legs. 

“I’m not,” he said adamantly, “I think you’re attractive and you seem like a nice guy. I’d like to get to know you.”

“Are you sure?” Will asked, waiting for the declaration that it was all a joke, “I mean I… I’m not the kind of guy you can sweep of his feet. I’m too fat.”

“Nonsense,” Nico said, “you’re not too fat at all. If ever there comes a day I can’t lift you, I’ll lift some weights.” Will found himself blushing.

“You seem pretty determined to get a date with me, huh?”

“Only if you want to!” Nico said quickly, “you don’t owe me anything, you can absolutely say I’m out of line!”

“I finish in three hours, meet me for a coffee and a cake in the food court?”

“Only if it’s chocolate,” Nico replied, and Will smiled and blushed. Maybe working in retail had its perks.

VAMPIRES

(neck biting)

Will hadn’t exactly been looking to be bit by a vampire, he really hadn’t. 

Well… maybe that was a lie. He’d made plenty of throwaway comments of how hot it would be to have a vampire guy pin him against a wall and bite him, an idea he’d gotten from an mlm blog on tumblr, he just… didn’t quite expect any vampires to exist and overhear. 

And that’s how he found himself in his current position, a hand on his chest and a hand tilting his chin up, pinned to a wall, with a vampire on his neck. He wasn’t complaining. 

In fact, this vampire had been rather very polite, nervously asking Will if he could bite his neck. Will would like to say he bargained with the vampire or resisted at least a little.

He didn’t.

In fact, the moment the vampire asked for his blood, Will practically threw himself against the wall and bared his neck with an enthusiastic yes. 

Will’s heart fluttered for the last time as the vampire pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Apparently being undead didn’t stop Will from feeling flustered or thinking very gay thoughts about the vampire. He was a little embarrassed by the purple sparkly unicorn plushie he was clutching in his arms, but when the vampire noticed it, he merely smiled and patted the unicorn’s head. Finally, somebody who wasn’t constantly teasing him for being a little different to most boys.

“What’s your name?” Will finally asked, and the vampire boy looked bashful, like he might have blushed if he still had a heartbeat. 

“Nico di Angelo,” he replied, and Will felt like he’d be blushing too if he could. 

“I’m Will Solace.”

“I’m aware,” Nico said casually, “you’re not exactly subtle with your advertisements for a vampire boyfriend.”

“Right,” Will blushed, “Uh- so, uh… how do you uh… vampire?”

“The same way you human but with a cape,” Nico replied, his lips quirking up into a smirk. 

“I need to buy a cape!” Will grinned.

“Nonsense, you can make one for much cheaper.”

“Cool! I can make mine have sunshine and rainbows-”

“No, that’s not how you vampire-”

“With kitties on it!”

Nico sighed, facepalming in defeat. “Okay, you’re adorable, we get it, but that’s not very stealthy, Will.”

“Neither is the tik tok e-boy aesthetic you got going there, my chemically imbalanced romance,” Will replied, and Nico stared at him.

“You’re impossible,” Nico declared. “I like it.”

FREE DAY- GHOST

(death, general angst, mentions of homophobia)

Nico wasn’t sure how long it had been, how many years had passed since his death. He haunted camp, alone in Cabin 13. He often cried, sometimes tried to interact with the physical world- and the noise he made was enough to keep people away from his cabin. He just wanted friends, he just wanted to not be alone anymore. Yet here he was, alone, completely alone. That was, of course, until a boy his age found his way into Nico’s cabin. He was crying, curled up on top of one of the coffin beds, and Nico’s heart ached. Why was the boy crying? He stood watching the boy, who just kept crying and crying. He reached out curiously to touch the boy’s shoulder, and the boy merely shivered. Didn’t he know this cabin was haunted? Something made a noise in the boy’s pocket, and he pulled out a light rectangle, a torch, Nico figured, but he appeared to read it like a book before crying again. Nico looked over his shoulder, looking at the bubbles filled with speech, hateful words. Words Nico recognised all too well, aimed at those who leaned towards the same sex. Nico watched sadly as the boy cried himself to sleep, and Nico sat on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t seen another person in years, hadn’t known how it felt to be anything but alone. He reached out, brushing a lock of the boy’s hair behind his ear, and the boy sighed in his sleep. Nico stayed with the boy until he left, and Nico was alone again.

It wasn’t long before Nico saw the boy again, but this time, his face was bruised, bloody, his lip puffed up where a cut still bled. He wouldn’t stop crying, and Nico didn’t know what to do. He floated to the bathroom, turning the tap on. The boy called out, but Nico sadly remained silent, and the boy walked in, frightened. When he saw nobody, he seemed relieved to find the cabin had running water, and began to gently dab at his wounds. The writing rectangle torch from last time made a shrill metallic ring, and this time, the boy lifted it to his ear. Nico leaned close, watching the boy shiver from the cold, and listened in. It was his mama, soothing him at first, until the boy- who Nico now knew was named Will- told her why he’d been hurt, and mama quickly hung up, making an excuse. Nico knew what that meant, and his heart dropped as Will started crying. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered as quietly as he could, and the boy seemed terrified. Nico hoped he hadn’t scared him off, but the boy just started crying again.

The boy visited often, and soon became accustomed to the occasional noise from Nico, or the occasional moved object. He seemed happy, for a short while, messages from a lover making him smile. Nico’s heart ached and he didn’t know why. Will laughed, and smiled. Until he came back one day crying again. Nico sat beside him, reaching out to touch the boy’s shoulder, and again he shivered at the cold touch, sniffling, before finally, he spoke. “I… I know you’re there,” he said quietly, “I- I know this cabin is haunted.” Nico stayed silent, before shifting slightly and moving a decorative skull to say he was there. Will flinched a little, and sniffled again. “My boyfriend broke up with me,” he said quietly, and Nico moved to sit beside him again as he sniffled and sobbed quietly.

The boy continued to visit, to talk to Nico. Nico often pushed the tissues closer for Will to reach, or turned the tap on for him to wash away blood or just wipe over his face to cool down. Nico would tuck him in when he fell asleep, sometimes press soft kisses to his temple as Will fell asleep. Nico never showed himself to the boy, never told him his name, just offered comfort. He fell in love, but the boy grew up, grew older, left, and Nico was alone again.

Decades later, and Nico still missed the boy, yearned from beyond the grave, wished himself alive for the millionth time since his death just so he could be with Will. One particular day, Nico found himself opening the curtains to look at the sunrise. He always liked the sunrise. It reminded him of Will. Pretty and breathtaking, full of life, comforting, warm, guiding light. He found himself crying again, having never found love whilst alive. He wondered how it would have felt to hold a boy, to hold Will, in his arms, to lay with him and hear his heartbeat, to kiss him softly in the ailings of light. 

He yearned, until he didn’t have to yearn.

Because, whilst he was watching the sunrise, he felt a dip in the bed beside him. “I always knew you’d be pretty, darlin’.” Nico’s head snapped up, and suddenly all the air was forced out of his lungs in one violent sob. Will. Will was back. He looked exactly how Nico remembered, bright blue eyes, curly blonde hair, freckles like constellations- a smile so caring it made you cry.

“Will…”

“I can finally touch you…” Will said gently, reaching out and cupping Nico’s cheek. Nico shivered.

“You’re dead…”

“I’d die a thousand deaths just to be with you,” Will smiled, and Nico burst into tears. Will gently wiped them away. “What’s your name? I never got to find out. I missed you, you know. The last thing I thought of before I went was that I’d finally get to see you again. You’re just like I imagined you to be.”

“Nico,” he replied, and Will beamed at him again.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Nico. I love you…”

“I love you too…”

This time, the boy never left, but Nico did. Because Will held out his hand, took Nico outside. To hear the birds tweeting, to see the sun, to see campers, alive, well, happy, it made him feel like he was finally in Elysium. Maybe he finally was, because he had Will. Finally, after decades, they weren’t alone anymore.

TEXTING

(Poor communication to start with)

\---1st October 2019---

17:38: Solace-has-a-phd: Hey, Neeks

19:49: Nicohasahappymeal: What do you want, Solace?

19:49: Solace-has-a-phd: Just checking in :)

19:54: Nicohasahappymeal: why tho

19:54: Solace-has-a-phd: Because :)

19:54: Nicohasahappymeal: Okay…?

19:54: Solace-has-a-phd: :)

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

\---2nd October 2019---

6:45: Solace-has-a-phd: Morning, Neeks :) How are you today?

12:23: Nicohasahappymeal: What the fuck kind of ungodly hour do you wake up at?? Also I apologise for leaving you on read, I just,,, don’t know how to respond? I’m sorry, I’m not very good at communicating

12:26: Solace-has-a-phd: I’ll have you know I was up at like- 4am, Death Boy :D (Imagine that’s a laugh emoji, I broke my phone :D) Also don’t worry about it :) 

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

15:30: Solace-has-a-phd: I just got back from training

16:27: Nicohasahappymeal: That’s nice?

16:48: Solace-has-a-phd: Hey, I just want you to know that if I’m being too intense, you can tell me to back off and I’ll back off

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

\---3rd October 2019---

03:36: Nicohasahappymeal: Will I’m sorry. I was going to ask why you think that but then I realised I look very dismissive and like I don’t care. I keep replying late and leaving you on read and barely answering. I want you to know that it isn’t because I’m trying to avoid you. I smile whenever you message me. It’s just I don’t know how to reply to you, especially when you just message me with a statement. I’m not very good at knowing what to say or how I should feel, but please don’t feel like you have to back off. Know that if I didn’t want to hear from you, I wouldn’t read your messages at all. That’s my way of saying that I’m interested in what you have to say, and I don’t want you to stop messaging me. I should have explained this sooner, and I apologise.

6:32: Solace-has-a-phd: Hey, it’s okay, Neeks :) I’m not upset or offended. I was a little upset, but now I know why you don’t reply much, I understand. It’s just I’m always told I’m too intense and I’m not good at noticing where people’s boundaries are so I just wanted to give you the chance to set some. I hope you have a nice day, and please don’t feel pressured to reply.

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

\---4th October 2019---

10:27: Solace-has-a-phd: I think you are a cutie, I like you a lot, wanna go on a date :)

10:27: Solace-has-a-phd: You pronounce the :)

10: 27: Solace-has-a-phd: That’s the only way I could make the Haiku :)

11:56: Solace-has-a-phd: :)

11:56: Solace-has-a-phd: (:

11:56: Solace-has-a-phd: :)

11: 56: Solace-has-a-phd: looks creepy

11:57: Solace-has-a-phd: but

11:57: Solace-has-a-phd: (:

11:57: Solace-has-a-phd: Looks like it will murder you.

11:58: Nicohasahappymeal: (:

11:58: Nicohasahappymeal: I like you too (: I’d love to go on a date (: Just you and me (: Somewhere quiet (: Where nobody can hear you for miles (: Happy days (:

11:58: Solace-has-a-phd: askfjkjlfasdjkasjkfkalsdjkdjkldjks I don’t know whether to be scared or excited and at this point I’m too afraid to ask, you’re so creepy babe :) So is that a yes? :D

11:59: Nicohasahappymeal: Are you? Good? Solace?

11:59: Solace-has-a-phd: I love you so much babe :)

11:59: Nicohasahappymeal: You’re my favourite living corpse (:

11:59: Solace-has-a-phd: I’m scared :(

12:00: Nicohasahappymeal: Don’t get murdered (:

12:00: Solace-has-a-phd: You’re doing this to fuck with me, aren’t you?

12:00: Nicohasahappymeal: Meet me in my cabin tonight and find out (:

12:00: Solace-has-a-phd: Mommy I’m scared :(

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

\---5th October 2019---

1:46: Nicohasahappymeal: ITS SPOOKY TIME

2:58: Nicohasahappymeal: IMMA BLAST SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS AT WITCHING HOUR

3:00: Nicohasahappymeal: BITCH LISTEN TO THAT

3:00: Nicohasahappymeal: THIS IS A FUCKIN BOP

3:23: Solace-has-a-phd: Oh mt fuckinh godd what the fukc arr you doinf? I, tryinf ro slee[

3:24: Nicohasahappymeal: I’m doing the lord’s work

3:24: Nicohasahappymeal: ITS SPOOKY SEASON BITCH

3:25: Solace-has-a-phd: Godsfuckingdammmit turn that down ffs I havve a headache and I gotta work tomorrow -_-

3:27: Solace-has-a-phd: FFS WHY DID YOU TURN IT UP-

3:27: Nicohasahappymeal: (:

3:28: Solace-has-a-phd: I’m gonna kick your scrawny little ass, di Angelo

Seen by Nicohasahappymeal

ROYALTY

(This is gonna be like- 50% accurate, 50% made up to fit the plot, but it’s set in the Tudor Era, England. Talk of marriage alliances, bastardisation, religion mention)

Dearest Elizabeth,  
I do not wish to alarm you, but there is news that His Majesty is gravely sick. This concerns me- whilst I may be old enough to take the throne, I am still born out of wedlock and scandal. As a result, upon his untimely death, Edward will take the throne. He is but a boy of nine, and I fear for the throne. My only hope is that his young age prevents our sister Mary from ascending to power out of fear she will bring back the old ways. I will attempt to find a wife, perhaps from Burgundy or Aragon, in an attempt to form an alliance strong enough to boost my claim to the throne. I may be seen as a usurper if I do so, given Edward has the strongest biological claim, then Mary, then you. However, I do not believe that the country will be safe in the hands of a boy and I do not believe a return to Catholicism under Mary is best given the staunchly protestant demographic.  
Kindest regards, William, Duke of Birmingham.

Will sealed his letter with a wax stamp and sighed, leaving it on his desk for now. He was already dressed for a ball later that evening, where he would attempt to find a woman with whom to form a marriage alliance. Perhaps a Habsburg would make for the best alliance, given the power over the Holy Roman Empire. 

By the time Will was at the ball, he was rather very bored already. The music was tediously slow, the women were staunchly uninterested in somebody with no power over the monarchy, and most talk between the other nobility and gentry was politics. There was talk of more rebellion from within the Privy Chamber, bribery, temporary alliances. The majority of the conversations were dominated by his father’s religious policy, and how it affected his ties with the Habsburg Monarchy- not to mention the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I was related to Margaret of Burgundy- her son-in-law? (was it? Will wasn’t very up to date with the dramas). Families were complicated, and by complicated, he meant that everybody was related somehow. He’d have to ask around and find out for sure. So Will wasn’t holding out much hope for finding a marriage alliance. After a particularly long conversation with the Earl of Essex, he decided some fresh air may prevent him from ripping his flesh to smithereens. 

That’s when he saw him. A man his age, stood leaning against the wall like a commoner with a glass of wine in his hand, wearing fancy dress robes in dark purples and golds. Will wondered if the boy was a prince, to be so rich. He hoped so. Will stood beside him, and the man turned his head, looking Will up and down. “And you would be…?”

“William Solace, Duke of Birmingham. And you would be?”

“Niccolò di Angelo, a Venetian Bastard.”

“A bastard son of whom?”

“Does it matter?”

“Good point,” Will replied, huffing a laugh, “I’m the King of England’s bastard.”

Nico chuckled, deep and sophisticated, impossibly smooth and measured, almost cold. “Of course you are. You must be so inbred to be related to a Tudor.”

“Don’t remind me,” Will blanched. 

“Who isn’t these days,” Nico replied, and Will leaned against the wall. “I see you have no etiquette.”

“Neither do you. Why are you at the ball?”

“Same reason as you. Keep up appearances, wive it wealthily.”

“A dowry of twenty thousand crowns would be nice right about now.”

“Aye, I’d have to agree. Not that I’m particularly interested or inclined to take a wife.”

“Yes, because being a bachelor is so much better. At least a marriage would bring us a voice to use, a steady foot in the door. Maybe I could afford to travel to Oxford. I’d like to study medicine.”

“Aren’t you a little old for that, what are you, eighteen?”

“Twenty. Not to mention I was too sick to attend university at fourteen.”

“So you aren’t interested in a pretty wife to start a family?” Will scoffed, and Nico raised an eyebrow. “Well this is scandalous,” he grinned, sipping his wine, his eyes alight with the new knowledge. “The bastard son of the King of England is queer. Who would have expected it?”

“If you know what’s best for you, you will say no more on the matter. Should I be executed, my sister shall avenge me.”

“I doubt that, William,” Nico replied, leaning off the wall and watching Will in interest, “have you ever indulged your thoughts?”

“God, no!” Will protested.

“If you’d like to,” Nico replied smoothly, leaning close enough to whisper in Will’s ear, “meet me in my bedchambers by sundown and find out.” The Venetian man walked away, swaying his hips slightly. He glanced over his shoulder one last time with a smirk, before rejoining the ball and taking the hand of a young woman, leading her to dance. Will never thought he’d ever anticipate the fall of the sun quite so much. He was sure he’d be erased from history for this, but hey, he had nothing left to lose, in his opinion. 

So Will found himself nervously knocking on the door to Nico’s bedchambers in the dead of night. It must have been around midnight, although it was hard to tell the time without the sun, and Will couldn’t see any clocks nearby. The door opened, and Nico was stood in cotton bedclothes, a slight smirk on his face. Will wasted no time in stepping in- he had no intentions of getting caught. “You uh- you’re in your bedclothes,” Will said, blushing red to his ears. 

“Yes, and I must confess, I’m a little disappointed that you aren’t,” Nico replied smoothly, pulling Will deeper into the room by his cravat. 

“Uh- I uh- I’ve never done anything like this before,” Will stammered, and Nico smiled gently.

“We don’t have to start anything now,” he replied gently, instead holding his hand out for Will, “how about a dance? We never had the opportunity to dance together at the party, and it would be nice to share a dance with you.” Will took his hand, and Nico began to dance. Will was not prepared, stumbling and tripping over Nico’s feet, but Nico didn’t say a word- he just chuckled and slowed down, leading Will until he fell into step. Will’s heart was pounding- he’d never imagined indulging in a dance with another man, such an intimate act. And Nico was holding him delicately, but there was a strength in the way he held him, something so masculine in his movements that had Will thrilled. 

And that single dance was the start of years of scandalous romance.

GAMER

(banter, no warnings)

Nobody was a better gamer than GhostKing666. The gamer could be found on the leaderboards of most games, and he’d won the eGames three years in a row. He always wore a skull helmet, never revealing who he was. Which is why nobody expected anybody to challenge him. That was, until Sunshine69420 started to climb up the rankings, and he never failed to challenge GhostKing666. He always lost, of course. However, he’d still managed to qualify for the eGames. Which lead him to his current moment- staring at GhostKing666 in his trademark skull helmet, who was staring back at him. What he didn’t expect was GhostKing666’s reaction.

“Solace, what the fuck are you doing here,” he hissed, grabbing Will’s arm and dragging him to a quiet corner.

“Nico?”

“Yes it’s me, what are you doing here?”

“Challenging GhostKing666…”

“What’s your user?”

“Sunshine69420…”

“For fuck’s sake, that’s you? That’s such an immature user, Solace!” Nico playfully hit his shoulder, and Will smiled mischievously. 

“Team up to beat everyone else and refuse to lose to each other?”

“Oh, I thoroughly plan on betraying and decapitating you, but sure.”

“Deal!” Will beamed, and he knew Nico was smiling beneath the helmet.

“I can’t believe I married you,” Nico sighed, “whoever loses has to do the dishes for a month.”

“We both know if you lose you ain’t gonna do shit,” Will replied, folding his arms and tilting his chin up in a challenge. Nico was so tiny.

“I mean true,” Nico half laughed, “But you’re definitely going to lose.”

“Oh really?”

“Wanna bet?”

“Damn right I wanna bet, how much money?”

“Solace, the wager is the dishes. Get with the programme. Dumbass.”

“Maybe I don’t wanna get with the programme, why don’t you get with the programme, hmm?”

“Dork,” Nico chuckled, beginning to walk away.

“May the best man win, di Angelo!”

“Ciao, motherfucker,” Nico said, taking his seat.

BED SHARING

(F-slur used once, reclaimed, mentions of homophobia, comedic innuendo but definitely no sex)

“There’s only one bed,” Nico said in horror. 

“I’ll take the floor,” Will said, and Nico shook his head.

“What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you sleep on the floor? I’ll sleep on the floor, you sleep on the bed.”

“But then what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you sleep on the floor? I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Compromise, we both sleep on the floor.”

“Or we both sleep together.”

“WILL! Oh my god- no! Will we’re too young-”

“Oh my gods no!” Will gasped in horror. “I- I didn’t mean we should do the buttsecks, I meant we should share the bed!”

“Then why didn’t you just say that!”

“I should have said no homo first.”

“What?”

“Well then you wouldn’t think I meant we should do the gay butt sex.”

“Right, yeah,” Nico nodded, his heart pounding in distress- no homo, no homo, no homo- “I mean- we’re not even gay,” Nico said with a bitter laugh he passed off as laughing it off.

“Uh- yeah…” Will said, his nervous glow flickering out, looking dejected, terrified. Nico wondered what he’d done wrong… oh gods, he’d given it away, he must have sussed Nico and he was uncomfortable. 

“Will, I-”

“You know you don’t need to make a show of it, you’re straight, I get it,” Will snapped.

“Uh- what’s with the attitude?” Nico questioned, offended by the outburst- well, surprised more than offended.

“I was joking about gay sex, I said “no homo”, why feel the need to suddenly announce you’re straight?”

“What the hell is wrong with you-” 

“I’m a fag!” Will blurted bitterly, shaking his head and looking away. Nico could see it now, the fear- Nico realised how much he sounded like those people, the ones who shut down any gay conversation by loudly announcing they were straight, the type of homophobe who made you uncomfortable, the type of homophobe who saw any gay conversation as some kind of predatory advance, the type of homophobe who would deny they were a homophobe but would probably turn violent. Will looked terrified, and Nico understood why. 

“Will…”

“Don’t,” Will pleaded, his breath shaky. Nico reached out to touch his shoulder, but decided against it when Will flinched. He looked so ashamed of himself, and Nico felt guilty, because he understood, he understood so well… 

“I lied…” Nico admitted, taking a deep breath. Will was gay. He understood. It was safe to tell him. He’d understand. Nico wouldn’t be hurt. He’d get it. “I’m gay too…” Nico admitted, “I was- I was just scared and I’m sorry, Will…”

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Will asked bitterly, “is this some kind of sick dare, where you flirt with the gay boy and make him humiliate himself?” Nico shook his head, but Will didn’t see that.

“Will, look at me,” Nico said gently, and Will shook his head instead. Nico sighed and moved to sit on the bed, and Will didn’t bother turning his back to Nico. “I’m gay, Will,” he said softly, and Will huffed as though he was trying to disguise a quiet sob, finally looking at Nico like he was waiting for an excuse, or a lie. “I’m terrified of people finding out,” he admitted, figuring ‘what the hell, why not open up, what have I got to lose?’ “When I was growing up, Will, it was terrifying. It’s… still terrifying. Only three other people know I’m… know I’m gay. Eros outed me, violently outed me, so I… I panic any time I could be outed again. So I… I’m sorry I was the reason you felt like that today.”

“Oh…” Will sighed, letting his guard down, “I had no idea…”

“Yeah…” Nico bounced his leg nervously, twisting his skull ring around his finger. Will looked to him and slowly sat beside him, not knowing what to say or do. “If… if you want, we can still share the bed. I mean I don’t want you to sleep on the floor, not after I was such an asshole to you.”

“Nico…”

“It’s okay if you’re not comfortable with that, I-” Nico cleared his throat, attempting to push down the blush threatening to paint his cheeks.

“I think… I…” Will sighed, putting his head in his hands. This could ruin the entire friendship, but Will felt Nico had a right to know, and now, knowing Nico was gay, and Nico being so open and honest with Will, and the prospect of maybe cuddles, Will felt like it was the right time. “Nico, I like you,” Will admitted, “like- a lot, I mean- I- I think you’re really uhm, really cute. And um- I really fancy you. So uh… yeah. There you- there you go. Feel free to uh… awkwardly shuffle out of the room or something. And I’m sorry if this ruins our friendship.”

“I uh-” Nico knew he was blushing, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly- was this real? “You uh- you really like me?”

“Uhm… yeah… I have for a while now.”

“But- why?”

“I uh-” Will was bright pink, awkwardly wrapping and unwrapping a bandage around his hand. “You’re beautiful,” he mumbled, “and you’re really kind to people and you look so pretty when you fight and you’re so funny and so sarcastic and so honest and so helpful and so caring and so sweet and you just- you make me smile and you- you make my heart go wild like you wouldn’t believe and I get all flustered, so uh… yeah, I’m attracted to you and I really really like you. I mean I could talk forever but uh… yeah…”

“Oh,” Nico blushed, puce, smiling involuntarily, a dizzying rush of happiness overwhelming him. A hot boy was confessing his feelings to Nico, very not straight, definitely not platonic feelings. Nico reached his hand across, until his hand was over Will’s. Will flushed bright red, and Nico felt fuzzy- he was touching a boy’s hand, unplatonically. He was finally doing it- finally being gay with another boy. He felt free. “I like you too,” he admitted nervously, glancing over at Will, who looked like he couldn’t quite believe his luck.

“You do?” Will questioned hopefully.

“Uh- yeah,” Nico admitted, before deciding to take a leap of faith, leaning across and pressing a gentle kiss to Will’s cheek that left him wondering what his first kiss would be like. He was completely dizzy with happiness. It turned out he didn’t need to wait long, because Will was curiously tilting his head and leaning in, and Nico found himself completely flustered, leaning in too. Nico had never felt so alive before, so real, so free, so honest, so himself. He wasn’t lying, he wasn’t hiding, he was free, and it was okay to act on those thoughts, on those feelings. It was okay. It was only a short kiss, but it had both boys blushing.

“Boyfriends?” Will asked quietly.

“Boyfriends,” Nico replied with a smile. He couldn’t quite believe his luck.

“So uh… about the uh… the bed situation…” Will began awkwardly, and Nico blushed.

“We uh… we could cuddle?” Nico offered awkwardly, and Will smiled slightly, blushing even more.

“I’d like that,” Will replied, and Nico’s cheeks were flaming by this point. It was awkward for a second, but Will rested his head on Nico’s shoulder, and the awkwardness eased away. He and Will were friends first, and Will had always been tactile- they’d hugged before, sat so close their legs and shoulders touched- Will had laid across Nico’s lap before, using him as a pillow. So Nico felt pretty used to this, to cuddling, to casual intimacy. It just felt more intimate now, more profound, more dizzyingly intoxicating. They talked casually for a while, until they gradually shifted to lay down besides each other, Will holding Nico close and Nico curled up in his arms. He figured he’d explain to his dad another day- for now, he was enjoying the feeling that nobody else was in the world, just Nico and Will. He smiled gently as he fell asleep. 

CARNIVAL

(tw: schizophrenia, ptsd. This is a prompt given to me by a friend.)

Nico had been looking forwards to the carnival for a week now, having just being discharged from hospital. Tartarus had caused him a lot of trauma, and Nico had suffered a complete psychotic break. He wasn’t that bothered by the fact he’d had one- he wasn’t new to the voices. He’d had them since he was young, whispering shadows, whispering spirits. He’d volunteered to go as an inpatient, upon realising that everything was worse than usual, after wishing he could take his own life to make the hallucinations stop. He’d been jittery, paranoid, barricading himself in his cabin and turning all the lights on in the hope the shadows would stay away. The food he’d stored in his cabin had gone rotten, completely forgotten about. He’d improved enough now to be allowed home- he was stabilised, at least. He was still hearing and seeing things- after all, hallucinations and psychosis don’t just disappear, but he was back to the baseline of normality for Nico. That meant daily hallucinations, a high likelihood of full sensory flashbacks to his trauma, night terrors that left him too scared to move, and general difficulty in controlling and expressing moods.

Will was thoroughly enjoying the carnival, walking around with a stick of candy floss bigger than his head, and a large pale brown teddy that was bigger than him. He could barely see where he was walking, but he looked eternally happy. It was only a small carnival, and it was cold, the ground wet from rainy weather earlier in the day. Nico looked around to the haunted house- a part of him wanted to go in, a love for all things spooky and horror drawing him to it, but he knew it would be a bad idea- there was a lot of jumpscares and whispering and creepy clowns in there. Will had gone in beforehand to assess if it was likely to trigger Nico, and after a candid discussion of Nico’s triggers and the contents of the house, Nico knew that this particular one was likely to trigger him. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t enjoy the carnival, however- there was a ghost train too, which he figured wouldn’t trigger him too badly. There were no clowns and the jumpscares were predictable because of the whirring of old machinery. Most of the figures were witches or ghouls, and Nico has hallucinated far more horrifying, seen far more horrifying monsters and spirits in Tartarus. 

He did get slightly triggered by the ghost train, because of the darkness, and he found himself hallucinating the moving shadows. Whilst it made him anxious and hypervigilant, it wasn’t anything that he wasn’t used to and couldn’t manage. He’d never been frightened of them- after all, he controlled the shadows, he was the son of Hades- but he didn’t know that shadows don’t just jump around and whisper or try to grab you. Whilst they did move, everybody described them as rippling, or like tendrils, not shadow people, and they only really did it when Nico was in a bad mood or when Nico was controlling them, not most of the time. So Nico’s psychosis wasn’t ruining the carnival for him. In fact, the thing that bothered him the most was the amount of mental patient costumes, psych ward jumpers, straightjackets, muzzles, bloody clothes. Because Nico was a psychiatric inpatient just two hours ago, and as far as he was aware, having a mental illness did not make you dangerous and scary- the only scary thing about it was the struggle and the stigma. 

Everything was red and white and old style, with arcade games and shooting games and hook-a-duck and darts games and water games. Everything was silly and fun, and by now, Nico had a bag full of small plushies. Ones he didn’t want he figured he’d give to Will or some of the younger campers. Will managed to convince him to have his face painted- Nico opted for a skull, whilst Will had a pink glittery butterfly across his cheeks. His freckles still glowed faintly below, like constellations, and Nico wondered how he’d gotten so lucky. Will was so beautiful and pretty and kind. Nico had won him the giant teddy bear on an old arcade game he’d played a lot in the Lotus, and Will clung to it. Nico was touch averse, and Will was not, so Will often got his quota of cuddles from his friends. But Will seemed to see the teddy, a gift from Nico, as an indirect way to hug Nico, a display of Nico’s affections. Nico was glad something as simple as a teddy from an arcade game could make him feel as happy as this. Maybe things were looking up now. Maybe the carnival was worth it. Maybe everything could be okay. Nico decided the carnival would be their thing from then on. Especially to see Will’s glowing smile again. 

Nico was soon able to cast aside his musings about his mental health and fully immerse himself in the carnival. Will was like a kid at christmas- he wanted something from every stall, especially when he saw handmade bead animals. Nico found himself bouncing over to a halloween themed stall, buying about five different skull ornaments to decorate his room. Will wanted to go on the ferris wheel- it was a big one with a long cue, but Nico didn’t mind. He figured the carnival would look nice from up there, so he happily waited in line. Well. He complained the whole time he was waiting, because he hated standing around, but he had Will’s company, so he didn’t mind. Once he was on the ferris wheel, he felt considerably more relaxed. Will smiled at him excitedly, and Nico couldn’t help but blush and smile.

“How many times does this go round before we have to get off?”

“Probably two,” Nico replied, “but we can always queue up again if you like it so much.”

“Are you kidding, di Angelo? We were in line for ages!” 

Nico chuckled lightly, scooting closer to rest his head on Will’s shoulder. “I’m sure there’s other rides we can go on. If you wanted, we could walk around and see if there’s a build-a-bear. We could make each other one, but, we don’t get to see until they’re done.”

“Including naming?”

“And dressing it,” Nico smiled, and Will bounced excitedly in his seat. It rocked the pod a little, but not enough to be an issue. 

“I already know what I’m gonna make for you if I get the chance,” Will grinned, and Nico raised his eyebrow expectantly. “But I’m not telling you!”

“You adorable dork,” Nico grinned to himself, “and we should find something to eat besides candy floss, I could do with a hot dog.”

“You do that, I’m gonna eat my body weight in cotton candy!”

“Of course you are,” Nico chuckled, “but maybe if there’s any rides you want to go on, you should visit them first? After all, we all remember the time we went to the theme park and you had too much ice cream before a ride.”

“Oh gods, don’t remind me,” Will groaned, before shivering in the cold.

“You’re going to catch your death, Solace, where’s your jacket?”

“I didn’t bring it…”

“You idiot,” Nico said affectionately, carefully removing his aviator’s jacket and gently placing it over Will’s shoulders. Nico had a cosy black hoodie on anyway, so he was warm enough without it.

“Thanks,” Will blushed, putting it on. It fitted him okay despite the height difference- Nico’s jacket was second hand, way too big for him in a way that Will found utterly adorable. He noticed something, blushing. “Nico, is that my hoodie?”

“It’s just so warm,” Nico replied with a blush, pulling it over his nose and showing his sweater paws, “and it smells like you.”

“You’re adorable,” Will smiled, and Nico huffed a laugh.

“Have you not seen yourself? If anyone’s the adorable one, it’s clearly you. You’re a giant care bear. And you glow? Do you know how adorable it is when you glow?”

“Not as adorable as you all bright red from the cold and cosy in my hoodie,” Will replied, and Nico let his hair fall over his face in an attempt to hide the raging blush.

“Are you flirting with me, Solace?”

“I’m always flirting with you,” Will replied, and Nico hid his face behind his hands. 

“Godsdammit, you’re impossible,” Nico smiled, and Will laughed melodically. 

“But you love me!”

“Yes, I love you,” Nico replied fondly, looking up at Will. Will looked at Nico like Nico was his whole world. Nico decided that the overhead view of the carnival paled in comparison to Will’s ethereal beauty.

Once they were back on solid ground, they did in fact manage to find a build a bear. Will made Nico a pink bat, which he named Berry for its colouring. He dressed it in a skeleton onesie, also giving it a little tophat. He couldn’t resist recording a voice message for it. “I love you, Nico!” 

Nico made a unicorn with a rainbow mane for Will, which he dressed in a pink sparkly dress over purple sparkly leggings and blue shoes- the bi flag colours. He named the unicorn The Gay Agenda, which he knew would make Will laugh. Nico recorded a heartfelt message for Will- “ti amo, tesoro.” 

Revealing the bears to each other first resulted in laughter and smiles, then pure love and affection upon hearing the recorded messages. 

After that, they stopped for food before continuing to wander around- Nico circled back to all the arcade games, happy to see his unbeaten high score still safely at the top of the leaderboard. He won a few more small teddies- one of which he handed to a crying child who hadn’t won anything. Will looked at him with adoration, and Nico found himself unable to stop smiling, because the child reminded him of himself as a child- a ball of energy asking thousands of questions, with a pirate costume and a stack of mythomagic cards. They ended up back on the ferris wheel once it was a little bit darker- the queue was much shorter, and it had been tranquil the first time. It was still tranquil, but the rest of the city looked pretty in the dark, with all the streetlights and illuminated windows. It was nice to see that people were living, thriving, happy. Nico also liked the way that he could sit close enough to Will to steal his body heat- Will was like a space heater and Nico was always freezing- so it was nice to cuddle up to him from time to time. 

Once it was getting a little too late, Will took Nico back to camp, Where Nico was more than happy to be back in his own bed. He let Will stay in his cabin for the night- besides, the cleaning harpies would probably chase Will should he be caught awake after curfew. Plus it was nice to fall asleep in his arms. Even if they were also sharing the bed with Will’s giant teddy bear.

WITCHES

(Necromancy. There is a skeleton.)

Will was a kitchen witch mainly, but he considered himself more an eclectic witch- he dabbled in most areas. From crystals to tarots to charms to candle magic and potions, from tea magic to positivity spells and sigils, Will liked to try it all. He was also somewhat of a green witch- he liked to go out foraging for potions ingredients, liked to make his own potions and spells. He was currently rearranging his alter- he had a fair chunk of lapis at the centre, because lapis was a protective and healing stone, with a long list of uses. He liked to rely on lapis and other crystals and potions alongside normal medicine. Citrine, amethyst, clear quartz, tourmaline, rose quartz, emerald, and ruby were his favourite stones to work with. His pendulum collection was rather impressive too- his favourite being amethyst. 

Nico was a fellow witch he’d met at a local witchcraft shop- Nico was a hellenic worshipper like Will, but whilst Will often worshipped Apollo, Nico often worshipped Hades. Nico also dabbled in magic Will would never touch- necromancy and curse jars, ouija boards and blood and bone magic. His grimoire was full of curses and blood rituals, curse jars lining the walls. Will finally asked what they were all for, hoping none were for him- and Nico explained that the curse jars were all for friends, or people he’d met, who needed help. Many of the jars cursed abusers. Nico was always honest with his clients- he never recommended solely using curse jars, he always recommended shelters and police intervention and hospitals and restraining orders- much like Will always strongly recommended science and medicine, and made sure anybody knew which herbs and potions could interfere with medication. Charcoal was notorious for completely nullifying medications and rendering them inert. Neither boy ever asked for money. Witchcraft was a good counterpart to modern life that offered some people a sense of security, but above all, it was a belief system, a very old one at that, diverse and dwindling.

Will was currently making small jars with amethyst and lavender for better sleep, sipping an herbal blend of tea that he’d made to ward away negative energies. 

Nico on the other hand, was putting down a ring of salt. He had his athame in his hand and his grimoire in the other, a set-up of multiple candles and corresponding crystals, all in a pentacle. Will hoped Nico had perfected this spell enough- it was one of Nico’s own, and Will knew that the salt ring and the multiple protection spells Nico had cast were a sign that this spell was likely to draw on a darker kind of magic. Will recognised Nico’s protection sigils carved into his candles, and he knew some of them by heart. Protect me from harm. Protect me against spiritual attacks. Allow me to work without possession. Rebound curses against me back unto the caster. Protect the soul of my partner. Let magick flow through me like a river flows through a valley. 

Will left the room, uneasy- he could practically feel the dark energy building. Will rather wanted to stick to the kind of magic that didn’t require the casting of several protection spells. He decided to go for a walk, collecting some plants along the way- not all magical, but Will was rather like a magpie when it came to finding things on walks. He picked some rosemary and lavender, collected some fallen rainwater, and even some eggshells near the bin. He found a few pieces of pottery he found interesting, a few old keys and a copious amount of bottle caps. 

He returned a good half hour later. Screaming when he saw that Nico had somehow acquired a human skeleton. “NICO WHAT THE FUCK-”

“Oh, hi Will,” Nico smiled, “this is Gilbert.” The skeleton moved, and Will screamed again, grabbing his flip flop and throwing it full force at Gilbert. 

“NICO WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!”

“Necromancy,” Nico replied casually.

“OH HELL NO, I’M OUT OF HERE, THAT’S A WHOLE ASS SKELETON AND IT FREAKING MOVED!”

“Will,” Nico chuckled, “he’s not real. He’s fake. Completely fake. I got him at the halloween shop.”

“Oh… then what- what spell were you doing?”

“Just some spirit work, that’s all,” Nico replied, and Will calmed down.

“Oh, thank fuck.”

“Just kidding, it was necromancy.” Will screamed again, throwing the other flip flop at Gilbert. 

FREE DAY- SECRET DATING

(pretending to be sick, sword fighting in vague detail, mild angst but it gets resolved quickly)

Nico and Will had a quiet romance. One that was full of hidden moments and coded body language, their own rhythm that nobody else could see, their own melody that nobody else could hear. There was a thrill- being surrounded by all these people, and nobody knew. It was a comfort too, a safety in the knowledge that you could live peacefully without judgment. He’d planned to spend the day with Will.

However, Nico had completely forgotten he’d agreed to help teach sword fighting with Jason and Percy until he was dragged along to the arena. He kept a close eye on the time- he was supposed to be meeting Will very soon- Will would be waiting for him in the infirmary, where they’d finally be able to spend time with each other. So he needed a believable excuse to go to the infirmary. He’d considered pretending to twist his ankle, but he knew Jason and Percy would see right through that, and he doubted he could convincingly pretend to pass out, and he wasn’t about to purposely get injured. So whilst the class was focused on watching Jason and Percy demonstrate disarming techniques, he raided his backpack for one of his cereal bars, chewing it up and filling his mouth with water. He held the mixture in his mouth until Jason turned to him asking him to help demonstrate, then with a convincing retch, he spilled the contents of his mouth onto the floor. It wasn’t the first time he’d faked being sick- he used it a lot back when he was in school. 

“Oh shit, Nico, are you feeling okay,” Jason asked, jogging over to him and rubbing his back. 

“Perfectly fine,” Nico replied sarcastically, holding his stomach.

“Are you gonna puke again?”

“Probably,” Nico lied with a groan, “I might pass out.”

“I’m gonna take you to the infirmary, no arguments,” Jason said sternly, hooking his arm around Nico’s waist and walking him to the infirmary. Nico held back a smug grin, glad that his lie had worked. 

As soon as they reached the infirmary, everybody turned to look. Nico instantly felt uneasy- the majority of campers there looked at him either with disgust or fear. The Apollo cabin looked at him with unease- all apart from Will, who had been tending to a head wound. He immediately downed tools and took off his gloves, quickly using hand sanitiser before putting on fresh gloves- as per standard hygiene practices. He rushed over, guiding them towards one of the back rooms. “What happened,” he asked worriedly, “training injury?”

“No, he was fine one minute then he threw up,” Jason explained, “he said he might pass out.”

“Okay, well you should get back to whatever you were doing,” Will ordered, and Jason stared at him for a second. “He’ll be fine.”

“Uh- sure, I’ll be back after training,” Jason said, giving one last worried look to Nico before leaving. 

“I don’t believe for one minute you’d admit you was ill, di Angelo,” Will said with a slight smirk, “you’re just bunking off training to spend time with me.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself, Solace,” Nico retorted. 

“I was thinking,” Will began, unravelling the bandage he had tied around his wrist and re-wrapping it, “it’s getting kinda difficult to find time for each other whilst this is still a secret, so maybe we could… you know, not hide it now that-”

“Will, we’ve talked about this, I don’t want anybody to know,” Nico interrupted, perching on the edge of the hospital bed. 

“Mhm,” Will nodded, and this time the hurt was less easy to disguise. 

“Will...” Nico began gently, reaching for his hand and guiding him to sit besides him. “It’s not because I’m ashamed of you, I promise. I just…” Nico closed his eyes for a second, thinking about how to explain. “I don’t know if I can face the way people might react,” he explained, “people already treat me differently because of my father, because I wasn’t born in this era, because I’m different. You don’t seem to notice it, but they all look at me like I’m covered in sewerage. People avoid me like I’m carrying the plague, give me hateful stares, talk about me behind my back whilst pretending to be civil to my face. And I’m still trying to come to terms with… my sexuality. I spent years hating the way I felt, only two people know about this other than you, and I’m not ready to come out yet. I’m sorry, Will,” Nico said softly, squeezing Will’s hand.

“No, I’m sorry,” Will said eventually, turning to face Nico, “I’ve been pressuring you to come out when I’m not even out yet. That’s unfair of me, and that’s not really the problem.”

“Then tell me,” Nico insisted, linking their fingers together, “tell me what the problem is.”

“I want us to spend more time together, Neeks,” Will admitted, “we barely get to spend time together. And before you say we spend a lot of time together, I mean like this. When it’s just us, and I can hold your hand and tell you I think you’re handsome and we can kiss and cuddle like boyfriends do.”

“I’m glad you said that,” Nico admitted, blushing just as much as Will was, “I like it when it’s just us.”

“Then why don’t we spend more time together? Apart from you visiting me here for my lunch break, we don’t spend time alone.”

“I… didn’t know how to ask,” Nico admitted, looking to their joined hands, “I’ve never had a boyfriend before and I didn’t want to seem too intense.”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before either,” Will admitted, pulling Nico’s hand to his lap and playing with his fingers, “so… how do we spend more time together?”

“We could skip campfire tonight,” Nico suggested, “maybe watch the stars from the roof of my cabin, nobody can see us there.”

“I’d like that,” Will blushed, “it sounds romantic.”

“That’s kinda the point, Solace,” Nico blushed, “it could be like a real date.”

“I have archery practice in a few minutes,” Will said quietly, “I’ll write you a doctor’s note to get you out of campfire tonight, we’ll meet behind your cabin, okay?”

“Sure,” Nico agreed, “I should get back to training anyway.”

“Is it okay if um… if I kiss you goodbye,” Will asked nervously, and Nico turned bright red, blushing. He leaned forwards, gently kissing Will on the lips before standing up and walking to the door.

“See you later, Solace,” he said, glancing back at Will before making his way back to the arena with a smile on his face. As soon as he walked in, the young demigods froze and stared. Jason immediately lowered his sword and jogged across the arena to him. 

“Are you okay,” he asked, “you look like you have a fever., are you coming down with something?”

“I’m fine,” Nico protested, “it was just something I ate, Will gave me medicine and I feel okay now.”

“Are you sure? You can sit this one out,” Jason fussed, “me and Percy have it covered.”

“The doctor said it’s okay for me to train, and I’m not a child, Jason, I’ll be fine.”

“We have different definitions of child, but okay,” Jason muttered, “the kids want to see an all-out fight, you and Percy.”

“I’d be happy to demonstrate,” Nico smiled. 

“Are you sure-”

“I’m not going to swoon or wet my panties like an overexcited schoolgirl, Grace,” Nico hissed, “I can handle a fight with an overgrown tuna without throwing myself at him or dropping to my knees!”

“I wasn’t implying that,” Jason protested, “I was asking if you were sure you felt well enough to fight, we both know you’re more than capable of turning Percy into fishbait.”

“Whatever, Grace,” Nico snapped, embarrassed by his outburst. He quickly grabbed his armour from the shadows and pulled it on, grabbing his sword and adjusting his grip. 

“Why are you always so eager to turn me into Sushi,” Percy huffed, uncapping Riptide.

“Because you’d finally shut your stupid mouth,” Nico replied, swinging his sword violently at Percy’s face. Percy cursed, quickly ducking backwards. Nico didn’t give Percy chance to recover, shadow travelling behind him and pulling him back by his hair before he could regain his balance and holding the tip of his sword firmly against Percy’s carotid.

“I wasn’t ready!” Percy protested, but Nico just chuckled.

“Yes, because the bad guys will always wait until you say ‘go’, won’t they? Lesson for you, kids, your opponents in the real world won’t wait until you’re ready and won’t stop when their sword is at your throat. The glory of a quest is not worth your life, remember that. Now Percy here,” Nico explained, pressing his sword a little harder against Percy’s throat, “is somewhat of a legend amongst demigods. He declined godhood, you know. And right now, I could have killed him. I could have slipped or miscalculated. Or I could press my blade just a fraction harder. This is the man who brought down Kronos, and his life is now in my hands, because he wasn’t ready for a simple attack. But this is sparring. Make your mistakes in the arena because you can’t make those mistakes against the monsters and the bad guys.”

“Are you done teaching your lesson yet?” Percy piped up, and Nico rolled his eyes, removing his blade from his throat and shoving him forwards.

“Next time don’t be such a boring opponent, Jackson,” Nico chided, sauntering out of the arena.

“You fight dirty, di Angelo!”

Nico chuckled as he walked off, looking over his shoulder. “I never said I’d fight fair.” He spent the rest of his day summoning skeletons in the forest to fight, because the dead didn’t talk back. 

MUSICIAN

(loneliness)

Nico had played clarinet for six years, almost seven, although he’d abandoned it for almost two years to focus on himself. He quickly pieced it back together, careful to make sure everything was aligned and the cork was sufficiently greased. He changed his reid and practised some scales, before he looked through his old sheet music. He picked out Dream, by Imagine Dragons. It was slow enough to allow him to fall back into it easily. 

He didn’t expect to hear a flute beside him joining in. He was startled, but he continued to play. He didn’t look at the flutist, but they played beautifully. Nico continued to play, worried he’d slip up and squeak a note, but he managed to get through the piece. There was something calming about the flute accompaniment that soothed his nerves. Once he’d finished, he turned around slowly. 

“Will?”

“I- I’m sorry,” Will stammered, “I- I just- I just wanted to play and I’m sorry if I annoyed you and uh- sorry…”

“You didn’t annoy me!” Nico said quickly, awkwardly trying to figure out what to say. Will was bullied a lot, never spoke to anyone, always alone, and beautiful. Nico regretted not talking to him sooner, because nobody should look as lonely as Will did. “That was beautiful,” Nico admitted bashfully, “I didn’t know you played flute.”

“I uh- I dropped out of band… it was too lonely and I was crying every Friday because nobody ever talked to me…”

“I’m sorry,” Nico said honestly, and Will’s eyes were glassy and teary. Nico wanted to hug him. “I should have talked to you. I just… I was shy, and that’s no excuse,” he explained, “but I always wanted to talk to you.”

“You don’t have to say that,” Will replied quietly, “nobody ever wants to talk to me, and I get it. You don’t have to pretend.”

“No,” Nico protested softly, “I uh… I used to watch you from across the dinner hall. I uh… I drew you once.”

“That drawing in my locker was you?”

“Uh- yeah. I uh… I was too shy to give it to you.” Will blushed, the tiniest of smiles appearing. Nico tried to figure out what to say next.

“Thank you,” Will said in almost a whisper, and Nico was blushing too.

“I uh… we should like… hang out some time, maybe? I wish I’d already gotten to know you.”

“I uh- I have a recital if uh- if you wanna come to that? It’s Friday. It’s lame but uh… my mom can’t make it and… I don’t wanna be the only kid with no one there…”

“I’ll be there,” Nico replied, “I promise you, I won’t let you be alone ever again.”

HIGH SCHOOL

(homophobia and injury)

“What have you done,” Will asked softly, dabbing at the wound above Nico’s eye with a swab. Nico winced harshly, flinching. “Sorry,” Will apologised, wiping the blood beneath the wound instead. Nico didn’t reply, so Will didn’t say anything until the blood was cleared and he could see the wound. “It’s not that deep,” he said softly, “I can just put some butterfly stitches over this.” Will took some steri-strips from his first aid kit, gently aligning the wound and sealing it. “All done,” Will said gently, deciding which wound to fix next. Nico had a cut on his bottom lip, and it looked like there was some gravel embedded in there. “This might hurt,” Will said gently, picking up a saline wash that he could pour over the wound to flush it out. 

“Do you have to stand so close?”

“Sorry,” Will apologised awkwardly, stepping back slightly as he cleared the gravel from the wound, “this looks sore, but it’s not very deep. This should scab over by itself.” Nico nodded, and Will picked up the swab again, carefully removing the smaller pieces of gravel. “Hold still,” he ordered gently, picking up a pair of tweezers and carefully removing a shard of broken glass from the wound. Nico’s lip started bleeding more, so Will carefully applied pressure. Nico winced and pulled back sharply, holding his hand under his chin and looking at Will with a panicked expression as the blood pooled. “It’s okay,” Will soothed, “just hold the swab on the wound, it’s just because lips have a lot of blood vessels, there’s nothing to panic about!” Nico nodded, taking the swab from Will and holding it to his lip, his eyebrows knitted together in pain. His nose was bloodied too, but a gentle poke around the area confirmed that it wasn’t broken, although he did receive a swift reactionary kick from Nico to the shin. 

“It was Bryce,” Nico mumbled quietly, and Will hummed in question, checking the swelling on Nico’s face. “He kicked me in the stomach too.”

“Can I see?” Will asked gently, and Nico nodded, lifting his shirt up with a wince. There was a footprint bruised into the flesh there. “Oh Nico…” Will gently traced the bruise with his fingers, but Nico flinched harshly and winced, tensing. “Sorry,” Will said gently as Nico lifted his top back down, “you should see a real doctor. I… I can’t help you with that.” Nico nodded, looking down, and Will smiled sadly. “You could tell a teacher? I mean he slammed you into the locker last week, and the week before that he stabbed you with a compass.”

“I already said no,” Nico snarled, and Will knew he’d crossed a line. “They won’t do anything except tell my dad and he’ll wanna know why!”

“Okay,” Will said gently, “I won’t tell the teachers. But please, get the bruises checked. Especially if you end up peeing blood or anything.” Nico nodded curtly, pressing the gause back to his lip, which had started bleeding again. “Nico… why is this happening? I just- I’m worried… you’re being bullied and you’re terrified of anyone knowing why and I’m worried.”

“What makes you think I’d tell you anything?”

“Because,” Will said gently, “you trust me, I know you do. I’ll help you, but I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on, Nico.”

“I- I do trust you,” Nico said, sighing in frustration, as though he was arguing with himself, “and that’s why I won’t tell you, because you’re all I have and I can’t lose you because of this too.”

“You won’t lose me. Nico, please… let me know.” 

Nico’s eyes searched Will’s face as though he could find the answers in his freckles, until he looked away. He seemed to be building up the courage to say something, so Will remained silent in reassurance. “I… I’m gay,” Nico whispered, and Will instantly hugged him.

“You’re not alone, Nico. I support you, and I understand. It’s okay.”  
\---

“Neeks? I uh-” Will winced sharply, limping over to Nico, “I need help.”

“Who did this, I’ll kill them!” Nico guided Will to sit down, rushing to find a first aid kit whilst Will chuckled melodically. 

“I tripped up the stairs.”

“You fell down the stairs? Were you pushed?” Nico interrogated, grabbing some alcohol wipes from the kit and pressing them roughly onto the cut on Will’s cheekbone. Will screeched.

“You don’t put them on an open wound!” Will said quickly, wincing at the sting.

“Hold still-”

“You’re trying to kill me!” Will protested, but he relaxed as soon as Nico rolled his eyes. “And no, I wasn’t pushed, and I didn’t fall down, I tripped up the stairs.”

“How do you trip up the stairs?” Nico questioned in disbelief. 

“My flip flop got caught on the banister and I tripped up about three steps trying to keep my balance. I hit my chin too.”

“I can see,” Nico said with a small smile, “you’ve got blood everywhere and the skin is hanging off. You complete and utter idiot.” Nico chuckled, and to anyone else it would be cold, haunting even, but Will thought it was the smoothest, warmest sound he’d ever heard. Nico stared at the wound on Will’s chin, then seemed to have an idea. “Hold still.”

“Nico-” Will watched as Nico picked something up from the side, then began to panic. “Nico- is that a staple gun- no-”

“Will hold still-”

“Get away you are not shooting me in the face with a staple gun”

“Will hold still otherwise I might miss or blind you!” Nico insisted, trying to hold Will’s face still as he positioned the staple gun. Will did the only thing he could think of to distract Nico- he kissed him. Unfortunately, startling him was a bad idea, and the sound of a staple being fired was heard, followed by stony silence. “Oh gods I’m so sorry-” Will slid off the chair, curling up in the fetal position on the floor, clutching at the area where the staple had hit. Nico paled in realisation. “Oh no please tell me I didn’t-”

“My balls!” Will squeaked, groaning in agony.

“Uh- I’m not gonna fix that, uh… I’ll get a teacher!”

“NO!”

LIBRARY/BOOKSTORE

(falling over, flirting)

Nico was always bored in the library. It wasn’t that he disliked books, it was just that books required focus. And Nico was extraordinarily bad at focus. Not that he couldn’t focus at all, in fact, Nico could focus an unhealthy amount on mythomagic, but dyslexia made it difficult for Nico to become too invested in books because he always got frustrated at himself. And being a librarian meant a lot of paperwork and a lot of socialising, and he wasn’t even getting paid. Nico found himself doodling to pass the time, or walking around. 

Today was no exception, or at least, it didn’t seem to be at first. He was busy putting books back where they were supposed to be, which was anywhere Nico felt like, because he had no idea how to order them. So he was putting them where they looked nicest. He had no doubt people would complain about not being able to find anything, but hey, he couldn’t find his will to live either. 

So Nico was sitting boredly at his desk by evening, waiting to be allowed home, when he was struck with the terrible affliction of an emotion. The cause of said illness was the tattooed man who had just walked in with an armful of medical textbooks. Nico could barely see any bare skin, save for his face. Nico figured it wasn’t fair for somebody so attractive to dare exist in his airspace. How dare tattoo guy smile at him. 

“Hey! I uh- I graduated today and I wanted to donate my textbooks to the library. I was lucky enough to afford mine, but I know a lot of students rely on libraries.”

Good gods, Nico thought, it’s Dr Sexy.

“I um- th- thanks,” Nico stammered, even more embarrassed when he realised he must have been blushing pretty hard.

“Yeah,” Dr Sexy said casually, “I’m a doctor, y’know, saving children and all that, it’s what I do.” 

Nico coughed awkwardly, partly because that was the lamest line he’d ever heard, and partly because it was working. “Do you try that line on everyone you meet?”

“Only the pretty ones,” Dr Sexy replied, leaning casually on the front desk, “and you’re the prettiest.”

“Uh- I’m a guy,” Nico said quickly, “I uh- I know I have long hair in a bun and I’m short but uh- I’m a guy.”

“I know,” Dr Sexy replied, “I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Nico replied, “uh-” Nico did finger guns in response- “cool!” Jesus fucking Christ, Nico thought to himself, what the fuck was that?

“Are you a serial killer? Because you’ve killed all my future exes and replaced them with my future husband.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re the future husband. I mean, if you wanna be…”

“I’m sorry,” Nico giggled, “that was lame and it sounds like you’re proposing!”

Dr Sexy went bright red, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Oh gods, I’m barking up the wrong tree, aren’t I? You’re straight!”

“Mhm, clearly,” Nico replied with amusement, pointing to his rainbow bracelet. 

“Oh!” Dr Sexy laughed, blushing pink to the tips of his ears. Nico found it adorable, which did not help him to be less awkward and shy. “So uh… wanna go on a date?”

Nico squeaked. Like, actually squeaked like a mouse. He wanted the ground to swallow him up. He wanted to hide. He wanted to commit a die. He could not embarrass himself any further-

He slipped on a receipt.

And not only did he slip, but he grabbed Will’s arm, lost his grip after dragging Will halfway over the counter, and fell on his arse.

Nico was sure he’d never get over the embarrassment, so he did what any rational person would do.

He stared into the void, and cried because his butt hurt and he’d just embarrassed himself in front of a hot guy. 

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” Dr Sexy was immediately by his side, crouching on the floor and reaching out. Nico didn’t flinch away, so Dr Sexy started to rub Nico’s back soothingly. “Are you hurt? Are you sad? Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“I’m fine!” Nico replied, hiding his face.

“Oh gods I’m a terrible human being, I made you slip and cry by asking you out! Oh my gods I’m so sorry!”

“No, I’m just embarrassed because I’ve been calling you Dr Sexy in my head and then you asked me out and I slipped like an idiot and now you can’t possibly be attracted to me.”

“Oh my gods, you’re really that shy?”

“Mhm,” Nico nodded, puce.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” Dr Sexy cooed, “oh my gods, now I just wanna take you home and keep you safe! You’re so adorable!”

“I’m not adorable, I listen to death metal!”

“Awww, uwu.”

“Don’t you uwu me! I’m not cute! I am death!”

“I’m totally taking you out on a date. Not to my motorcycle club though, I mean, you only have a vintage pushbike with a basket on the front, but I’m definitely taking you to the zoo.”

“Why, so you can tell me I’m cuter than every animal there.”

“Absolutely!”

“Oh my gods, you’re freaking sunshine! Ugh, fine, I’ll go out with you!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, unnamed tattoo man I’ve been calling Dr Sexy in my head for the past five minutes, I’ll go out with you.”

“Cool! I’m Will, by the way!”

“Nico di Angelo.”

FAKE DATING

(conflict, but resolved without consequence)

“Slow down,” Will interrupted, “you… accidentally told Jason you have a boyfriend?”

“Exactly,” Nico said, pacing the infirmary, “except I don’t have one.”

“I’m confused,” Will frowned, “why would you tell Jason you have a boyfriend if you don’t?”

“Because, Solace, you have no idea how annoying he is! He sits by me at lunch just to point out anything vaguely male, ‘what about him’, ‘he looks decent’ ‘he’s single’, he constantly introduces me to random boys in the street as his ‘very single friend on the rebound from a crush’, and he interrupts my night to interrogate me on why I haven’t gotten a boyfriend yet, and I was in the middle of- something- and he knocked on the door asking if he could come in and I panicked and yelled that I was with my boyfriend so he’d go away!”

“What in Hades were you doing-”

“Ew, nothing like that! Get your mind out of the gutter, Solace! I was playing mythomagic with my skeleton cat and I didn’t want Jason to see that I bought the expansion pack with the money he gave me to buy myself new shoes.”

“What-”

“Right. So now Jason thinks I have a boyfriend, he’s pestering me to meet him. And I don’t have one.”

“How exactly does this involve me,” Will asked skeptically, folding his arms. 

“I was thinking that… you could be the boyfriend. I mean um- then- then Jason won’t try to set me up with random boys and Jason never finds out that I lied this morning,” Nico mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing furiously. 

“Uh- sure! Am I allowed to hold your hand or-”

“As long as your hands don’t go lower than my waist and you don’t try to stick your tongue too far down my throat it’s fine. Meet me in my cabin after lunch,” Nico replied, turning redder as he walked away.

Cool, fake dating, plus I get to kiss him, Will thought.

Holy fuck I asked him to be my boyfriend and he said yes, Nico thought.  
\---

“I thought you said your boyfriend was gonna meet us after lunch,” Jason began, “has he stood you up? If he has I can mildly electrocute him for you.”

“He’ll be here,” Nico insisted, pacing around nervously, “Jason, do I look-”

“You look fine, and he’s gonna faint when he sees the eye liner.”

“That isn’t eye liner, Jason, that’s lack of sleep.”

“Oh wow, man, you look like d-”

“If you say I look like death, you’ll be embracing it a lot sooner than you expected, Grace,” Nico warned, and Jason held his hands up in mock surrender. “Maybe he changed his mind,” Nico scowled, sitting down on the edge of his bed. 

“I’m sorry, Neeks,” Jason said sympathetically, sitting next to him, “you really liked him, didn’t you? You know, if he-”

“Sorry I’m late,” Will panted, practically bursting through the door out of breath, “a kid had a bad allergic reaction to something at lunch, medical emergency and all, but-” Will paused for a second to catch his breath, “but I’m here now, I’m all yours, Kayla is covering for me, and um, I picked these, to say sorry for being late. They’re hyacinths, they grow around the Apollo cabin, and uh, I’m sure you’ve heard the uh, story behind them.”

“Will,” Nico smiled, walking over to him blushing, “you got me flowers?”

“Uh, yeah, I was in a rush and they’re the first thing I can think of,” Will blushed, the tips of his ears tinted pink in a way Nico found adorable. 

“Thank you, Will,” Nico beamed, leaning in and giving Will a small kiss on the cheek, melting as he did so. Will blushed more, his grin so wide he reminded Nico of an excited puppy. “Anyway,” Nico began, turning to Jason, “this is Will, my boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend is glowing,” Jason pointed out, and Nico smiled and blushed. 

“He does that,” Nico shrugged casually, “it’s sorta cute.”

“You’re the cute one, darlin’,” Will said smoothly, and Nico found himself turning puce and struggling to hide his smile. 

“I’m not cute,” Nico protested. 

“Whatever you say, sunshine,” Will smirked, kissing his temple before using Nico’s shoulder as an arm rest. “It’s nice to meet you, Jason,” he added, holding his hand out for Jason to shake as Nico pushed his arm off his shoulder. 

“Nice to meet you too, Will. You’re head medic, right?”

“Yep, that’s me!”

“Good, because if you hurt Nico, you’re going to need those healing skills for yourself, got that?”

“I uh-”

“Jason,” Nico scowled sternly, “don’t threaten him.”

“I’m not,” Jason replied firmly, glaring at Will, “I’m making sure he knows what happens if he hurts you.”

“If he tried to hurt me, I’d be more than capable of escorting him directly to the Fields of Punishment, I don’t need protecting, Grace,” Nico said darkly, but Will didn’t seem to notice or care- he seemed to be locked in an intense glaring match with Jason, arms folded stubbornly. “Uh, Will,” Nico interrupted, feeling the static in the air radiating from Jason, “Will you might wanna back down-”

“I’ve handled Clarisse, I can handle an overgrown Pikachu,” Will interrupted, and Nico stepped back to assess the situation. Almost all of the outcomes he could think of involved an electrocuted boyfriend or a sunburned best friend. It was clear neither boy was willing to back down, so Nico knew he had to distract one of them to get one of them to break his glare. 

“William, I just cut my finger on a dagger left lying around,” Nico announced loudly. 

“Firstly, no you didn’t, and secondly, you could handle a cut finger, Nico, this isn’t preschool, and I’ve seen you try to fight when you’re halfway to death refusing my help, I doubt you’d come to me if you cut your own hand off, let alone for a little papercut on your pinkie,” Will replied, still glaring at Jason.

“Jason, I overheard Piper saying she brought some new lingerie-”

“Nice try, di Angelo, but Piper doesn’t wear that kind of thing,” Jason replied, still glaring at Will.

“Don’t make me drag you both to the Underworld and let Cerberus use you as chew toys,” Nico warned. 

“Cerberus is an overgrown puppy, and dogs like me,” Will stated. 

“I was raised by wolves, I can handle your dog,” Jason replied. Nico considered opening a crack in the ground, but he figured he’d rather have his cabin intact, plus he doubted it would stop them. 

“Hey, is that Percy stood outside my window with flowers-”

“OH HELL NO,” Will yelled loudly. 

“NOT ON MY WATCH,” Jason shouted, both boys looking over to the window, before scowling at Nico. 

“I had to do something,” Nico shrugged, “you were both gonna end up killing each other.”

“Oh, that was dirty, di Angelo,” Will smirked, amused.

“Seriously, dude,” Jason sighed, and Nico shrugged casually. “I like your boyfriend,” Jason announced, “he knows how to stand his ground.”  
\---

“Will,” Nico said quietly, “you uh… you can kiss me, if- if you want…” Will had only just realised exactly how close they were sitting- their thighs were pressed together and Nico had been resting his head on Will’s shoulder until now, leaving their faces inches apart. Will certainly hadn’t expected Nico to ask for a kiss- but then again, they were fake dating and had been for a week- although that hadn’t gone beyond holding hands and the occasional kiss on the cheek, sometimes an arm around Nico’s waist or a hand on the small of his back. They were currently all around the campfire, so it made sense- if they were going to be fake dating, they had to make it convincing, and Nico was still closeted, so it made sense that he’d want to come out, and a kiss seemed like a good way to come out to Will. Although this would be both of their first kisses- but Will figured, what was the harm in a little experimentation, and besides, since realising he wasn’t straight, he’d been curious about what it would be like to kiss a boy. Specifically, what Nico’s lips would feel like. Will didn’t care if it was for the purpose of fake dating, Nico was giving him permission to kiss him, and Will didn’t want to say no, because gods, Nico was gorgeous. 

Will leaned in awkwardly, and Nico tilted his head slightly, blushing puce. Then Will realised he had no idea how to kiss. He figured it couldn’t be too difficult to figure out, so he closed the gap, gently pressing his lips to Nico’s before pulling back slightly. He parted his lips slightly, leaning in again, but this time he took Nico’s bottom lip between his own, sucking lightly- and Nico whimpered, resting a hand gently on Will’s shoulder. As Will pulled back slightly, Nico chased his lips, copying what Will had done, making him gasp and sigh as a warm tingling shivered through him. He pulled away again, cupping Nico’s cheek in his hand, Nico’s eyes fluttering down to Will’s lips and gods, Will didn’t want to stop kissing him, so he leaned in again and they fell into a slow, steady rhythm. Nico was a surprisingly gentle kisser, but Will quickly noticed that he was more than happy to let Will take the lead. That wasn’t what Will had expected- he’d expected Nico to kiss back fiercely, to take charge. Then again, it made more sense that he was letting Will take the lead- Nico was less confident in his sexuality than Will was. 

When they pulled apart, it went unspoken, but both boys knew that this was real.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

(poverty, brief mention of losing a patient, brief mention of drunkenness)

Nico hated the bus at night. It was always full of drunks and creeps, and Nico felt uneasy, but he was out late running errands for his dad, and here he was, at 2am, on a bus. The bus was slowly getting crowded with drunks, so Nico glared as best he could. There was no heating on the bus, so he pulled his jacket around him tighter, shaking. He felt unsafe, wanted nothing more than to just get home and pretend like he never had to catch the bus. 

That was, until, somebody sat beside him.

Nico instantly startled, but the stranger wasn’t a drunk- he was in scrubs, and he looked exhausted. He looked like he’d been crying, and Nico was concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked gently. The stranger huffed, leaning back in the seat.

“No,” he replied, “long shift. There was a horrible accident. I lost a patient.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Nico said gently, and the doctor gave a small smile. 

“It’s okay. So, why are you on the bus at this ungodly hour? You don’t seem very drunk.”

“My dad had a job for me,” Nico explained, “I’m training to be an undertaker.”

“How’s that going?”

“Badly,” Nico huffed. “I’m expected to work outside of my job description too. I do everything. I had to prepare the body of a child today and I spent hours working to make her face look… not mangled. And when you’re sucking the bodily fluids out with a machine, there’s a reason you’re told to wear a mask in case the machine malfunctions.”

“That’s rough, I’m sorry to hear that…”

“I just wanna get home and put my pyjamas on and forget today ever happened.”

“Me too,” the stranger agreed. “I’m Will, by the way.”

“Nico.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Will said, and a comfortable silence followed, broken only by the occasional drunken noises. “Actually…” Will began quietly, “I was evicted from my flat today and… I have nowhere to stay… I- I don’t even know where I’m going. I found a homeless shelter but they only open during the day and I’m scared to stay in a hostel… do you- do you know any good places to stay?”

“Why are you being evicted?” Nico asked softly, and Will almost started crying. 

“I had to buy medicine,” he said quietly, “and I couldn’t afford to eat, let alone to pay rent…”

“Don’t you get paid? Could you get a loan from your parents?”

“I’m too poor,” Will explained, looking down like he was ashamed, “my mom sings in clubs to try make money but I have a lot of siblings who are younger than me, so all the income goes to them. My dad’s a consultant but he doesn’t get paid enough to support all of us. I don’t make enough money to pay the rent on my flat and there’s no space back at home…”

“Oh,” Nico said, trying to process it all, “is it really that bad that you can’t afford food?”

“Yeah, it is,” Will snapped defensively, and Nico sighed.

“I’m not judging. I ran away from home a lot… spent a while on the streets… I come from money but I know how it feels to have nothing. Look… if you need a place to stay, I… I can offer you my spare room, rent free, for as long as you need. I don’t need any money and I have space I won’t use, and you need space and don’t have money.”

“Oh, I- I couldn’t be a burden…”

“If it was going to be a burden, I would have given you the cash and left you to sleep in a hotel. I’m serious. Come home with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. This is my stop, so come on. I’ll make you something to eat, you look like you could do with a good meal.” Will smiled slightly, and followed Nico off the bus. Perhaps kindness was worth it for the company, Nico thought.

DARK/EVIL

(blood, gore, graphic descriptions of surgery/vivisection, general evilness, reference of cannibalism. I completely understand if you skip this, it’s borderline horror)

Will felt like a kid in a candy store- for the first time in months, he was alone for a surgery, which meant he could have fun. Will didn’t put the patient under like he was supposed to- no, he wanted this one awake, missing the thrill of watching the patient’s terror as he worked curiously. Of course, he wasn’t a complete monster- he made sure there wouldn’t be much pain, using the same anaesthesia he used to perform neurosurgery, which required the patient to be awake.He also injected a fair dose of succinylcholine- muscle relaxant. He didn’t want the patient moving, after all. Will snapped on his gloves, wiggling his fingers a little before looking to the table of surgical implements laid out. A warm thrill shot through him, and he felt the childlike grin spread on his face. “Now, what shall I do first,” Will grinned, running his hand over the assortment of scalpels. He picked up the second and held it up, examining his crazed expression reflected in it before he brought it closer to the patient. The patient couldn’t whimper, couldn’t move. Will rather liked the way a single tear ran down the side of his patient’s face. 

Will made the first incision, watching as blood globules pooled around the blade in small enough quantities for it not to be a worry. He peeled the flesh back with his hands, carefully inserting a device to hold open the wound. He repeated the procedure to get past the muscle and fat layers. Ah yes, the liver. You could remove a lobe of liver and the patient would live. Liver was one of Nico’s favourite delicacies, and Will wanted to treat his boyfriend for his birthday. Will carefully clipped the main vessels- hepatic portal vein, hepatic vein, hepatic artery- and then he could begin. He changed to a more appropriate scalpel. Liver was soft and squidgy, foamy even, so it was easy to cut. It didn’t take very long to remove the lobe- as much as Will was a sadist, he considered himself ethical- he never removed anything that couldn’t be replaced, disecting for fun only in ways he knew wouldn’t cause lasting damage. Usually, at least. He did occasionally like to amputate or paralyse the particularly bad patients he had. Will cauterised the wound as he went, ensuring the patient couldn’t bleed to death. Once he was satisfied the liver wouldn’t haemorrhage and once he’d set the lobe of liver on ice, he carefully unclipped the vessels, satisfied that the patient wouldn’t bleed out. He closed up carefully, stitching as delicately as he could. He looked back up to the patient’s face, the relief that it appeared to be over, but the fear, the betrayal- that’s what Will liked to see.

FREE DAY- COFFEE SHOP

(mentions of homophobia, sensory overload, queer as a self label)

Coffee shops were Nico’s least favourite place to be. They were loud, crowded, and the smell of food and coffee turned his stomach. However, he’d missed the last bus, and it was pouring with rain, and his aviator’s jacket, as warm as it was, didn’t have a hood, and the rain was stinging his eyes. So he found himself sipping a coffee he didn’t like, sitting in the corner of the coffee shop, trying not to scream out loud. It was too loud and too crowded, a triggering situation to be in, and Nico thought about braving the rain again. He’d taken his jacket off because the sheepskin parts were far too wet, but at this point, he just needed to be anywhere but here.

And then a stranger was sitting opposite him.

“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you, I didn’t have anywhere else to sit,” he said. Nico froze, staring blankly at the table. He just wanted the stranger to go away, to be left alone, because right now, he was just trying to breathe normally, his chest feeling tighter and tighter. He almost didn’t notice the stranger sliding over a tangle. Nico immediately picked it up, pulling and twisting it, trying to focus on the motion of his hands and the sensations of the tangle on his fingers rather than the overwhelming cacophony. Which is why he almost didn’t notice when the stranger slid over a pair of headphones. Nico didn’t think twice before putting them on- even if it would have been music, one set of loud sound was better than overlapping clashing sounds from different directions. But there was no sounds in the headphones. It was silence, and it was bliss. Nico let out a deep, shaky breath and closed his eyes, absorbing himself in the nothingness and the tangle until the pain in his chest eased and the sheen of sweat was drying uncomfortably. He finally opened his eyes, and the stranger was still sat there, looking into his coffee. He smiled when Nico looked at him, but he didn’t make eye contact. Nico appreciated that- he didn’t think he could handle something so intense right now.

“Thank you,” Nico said quietly, and the stranger turned to look more in Nico’s general direction.

“It’s no problem, I understand how overwhelming this place can be, I just wanted to help. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah… yeah, I am,” Nico replied, and the stranger beamed warmly. Nico initiated the first eye contact, and his eyes were so so blue and pretty. Nico looked away with a coy smile, a little overwhelmed but in the best kind of way. He didn’t expect he’d see the stranger again, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling he felt in his chest. After so much hurt feeling like this for Percy, Nico didn’t take the feeling for granted anymore. Who he was was okay, and who he liked was okay. The stranger was a pretty boy, kind too, and Nico didn’t want his heart to stop fluttering in his presence. He felt his cheeks heat up, and he revelled in the youthful crush he had on him.

“You uh… you seem to have cheered up a little,” the stranger said, and Nico’s heart gave a tight squeeze, nerves welling up in his stomach. 

Nico’s mind screamed danger, so he had to take a moment to assess the stranger. His body language was open, honest, non-threatening. His smile seemed genuine and kind- he was making no advances and he wasn’t trapping Nico in the corner- he seemed safe. But was it safe to call him pretty without being called a slur or without being left for dead in an alleyway? The stranger didn’t seem to be able to sit in a chair correctly, cuffed jeans, middle finger ring, and a t-shirt in a pink, purple, blue gradient with an open button-down flannel over the top. So potentially, the stranger may have been employing queer coding. Not necessarily- of course Nico was aware that queer coded dress wasn’t always intentional, but the fact that there was a chance the stranger was intentionally trying to indicate he wasn’t straight gave Nico a feeling of safety- this stranger was likely to be like him, therefore less likely to be unsafe. “It’s not every day a pretty stranger saves me from a sensory nightmare,” Nico said with a small smile, anticipating the disgust still. Instead, the stranger giggled and blushed pink to his ears, doing finger guns back at Nico. 

“Eeeyyy, fellow queer! If you’re okay with that word, of course.”

“I am,” Nico replied, relieved that the boy was, in fact, purposely trying to signal his queerness, “you look very bi.”

“Bi and ready to die,” the stranger laughed, “that’s the look I was going for. I would wear a pride pin but then people who don’t know about queer coding would know, and that means potentially homophobic people would know. I’m trying not to be a target whilst trying to signal my queerness to fellow queers and allies.”

“Smart,” Nico replied, blushing more, because the stranger was very not straight. 

“So, what brings you to this place at this time of the evening?”

“Missed the last bus,” Nico replied, “I’ve no idea how I’m getting home, I don’t have enough money for a cab and the train doesn’t stop close enough to where I live for me to avoid an hour walk.”

“If it’s money you need I can give you some to pay for a cab.”

“I can’t take your money,” Nico insisted, “I’ll just wander around town until sunrise, find a McDonald’s to sit in.”

“Then I’ll drive you home,” the stranger said, “I’ll let you take pictures of my number plate and a selfie with me to send to your mates, you know, for safety.”

“Thank you,” Nico sighed in relief- this stranger was trustworthy. 

“I’m Will, by the way,” the stranger introduced, and Nico felt himself blushing puce.

“Nico di Angelo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Can I give you my number? Maybe if you ever find yourself ducking into a place like this, I can buy you a coffee sometime. Or if you ever need a lift. Or, you know, just a friend. But if you’d like to go out on a date or something I certainly wouldn’t be against that…” 

“I’d like that,” Nico replied, not even trying to hide his bashfulness, “but I’ll be paying for any dates.”

“I’ll still pay my share,” Will replied, “do you wanna get out of here and get home before it gets too dark and too loud?”

“Yes, thank you very much. And if the storm gets too rough, I’m not letting you drive home, you can sleep on my couch. No arguments, it’s the least I can do. Just don’t murder me in my sleep.” Will laughed quietly and nodded gratefully. 

COLLEGE

(I have no idea how America works so I’m basing this off my experiences at uni in Britain. Flirting, boundaries, attraction, biting reflex to being booped)

Nico walked into the hall with the rest of the crowd and sat down near the front. The board was already alight with a powerpoint, the first of the module- An Introduction To Psychobiology: Action Potentials and the All Or Nothing Principle. Nothing he didn’t already know, having studied biology and psychology in college, which meant he could relax. The professor was already stood at the front of the class. Nico checked his time table on his phone- he was Professor Abdulkadir. Nico made note to remember his name should Nico find himself sending an apologetic email to him in a few days for not doing his assignments on time. Nobody talked to anyone except for the kids from freshers week, who were talking about sex and girls and pole dancing society and burlesque society. Then a boy ran in late, all flustered. The professor didn’t say anything. “SORRY I’M LATE, I WAS AT QUIDDITCH! I TRIED OUT FOR BIRMINGHAM BLUDGERS!” The boy threw himself into the seat next to Nico and threw his arm around the back of Nico’s seat. “So,” he began, “you come here often?”

“Uh… no…?”

“I’m actually doing human neuroscience and the module overlaps so it’s in my time table. What widening horizons module did you pick?”

“Uh… music throughout time.”

“Cool! I picked LGBTQ studies! Because I’m a massive homo. Also I’m flirting. Hi, can I have your number?”

“I don’t have a phone!” Nico panicked, looking up from his phone.

“Wow, brutal,” the boy said, immediately moving his arm and giving Nico his personal space back, “sorry, I was a bit forwards, it won’t happen again. This is embarrassing, huh?”

“Yes, very. Did you not attend the meeting for LGBTQ students last Monday?”

“I was really anxious so I didn’t- wait did you go to it?”

“I’m gay and ace so yes, I did.”

“COOL! I’m bi! I’m Will, by the way!”

“Nico di Angelo. I came here from Italy.”

“That’s so cool!”

“You have grass in your hair,” Nico pointed out.

“Huh? Oh! From Quidditch!” Will shook his hair with his hands, but the grass didn’t budge.

“Here, let me.” Nico reached up and picked the grass from his curls, and noted how Will turned pink to the tips of his ears. He was cute, Nico thought, with freckles all over his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose. 

“Uh- thanks!” Will grinned, scrunching his nose up as he smiled. Nico resisted the urge to boop his nose. 

“It’s no problem,” Nico said awkwardly. He figured he was definitely attracted to this one. He was cute and he gave Nico skeletal butterflies of nerves. Nico always used to have a difficult time figuring out if he was attracted to somebody or not, because being asexual, he didn’t really get that wave of sexual attraction, because- well, asexual. For Nico, it was usually aesthetic attraction or romantic attraction. Will was pretty, Nico found him aesthetically attractive- he was really cute, a pretty boy, hot too. He also figured he’d enjoy spending time with Will, and he could picture himself falling into a romantic relationship with him, with candlelit meals and holding hands and kissing in the moonlight. Nico blushed a little. Although Nico wasn’t sexually attracted to anybody, let alone Will, he wasn’t sex repulsed, and he figured Will would make a nice partner to explore intimacy with one day. Not now, though. It was way too soon. He didn’t know the boy, didn’t trust him yet. Nico hadn’t realised he’d been going cross-eyed staring at Will’s freckles until Will booped his nose- and Nico instinctively bit his finger. He was never going to show his face in public ever again.

“Ow!”

“I’m sorry!” Nico began hurriedly, “I didn’t mean to bite you, it’s a reflex! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Will blushed, “you’re pretty cute, so I think I can let it slide.”

“I’m still sorry,” Nico cringed, blushing puce. Will blushed more too.

“It’s okay. And I’m sorry about the flirting earlier. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No, uh… I don’t mind when pretty boys flirt with me.” Will went bright red, staring at Nico. Nico liked the way Will was looking at him, and it made him blush and smile. It was a little overwhelming, so Nico looked away, still smiling to himself. “Wanna go out with me?”

Will made an inhuman noise- a verbal keysmash- then nodded enthusiastically. “YES!” Nico blushed a little more, and Will went to hug him. Nico backed away and put his hand between them. 

“I should uh- warn you that I’m a little touch averse. I uh… I’m not so great with the whole physical contact thing. It’s not that I don’t enjoy physical contact sometimes, it’s just… ask first? And don’t take it personally if I decline. Also if ever I leave you on read, don’t think I’m ignoring you. It’s my way of saying I’ve chosen to read your message and I appreciate it. Sometimes I just smile at my phone, but I don’t always know what to say. Is… that okay?”

“Yep! Boundaries are good and I’m glad you discussed them with me! I have none, by the way, so feel free to do things on your terms.”

“Thank you,” Nico said, writing his number in Will’s notebook. He blushed, and the lecture began. Will was blushing too.

SKATER BOI

(loneliness, depression, anxiety, loss, brief mention of gangs/drugs/crime but only in passing)

Will had always wanted to be a typical skater boy. He’d always looked at the skate parks in awe and wonder, watched the cool kids effortlessly skate along the pavements and effortlessly do tricks. But Will knew nothing about skateboarding, nor was he allowed to skateboard. So he watched from a distance every day, sitting on a bench in the park, looking over. Day in, day out, every school day, for the past six years. He’d watched the cool kids grow up, from failing every trick to effortlessly performing. He’d watched the kids grow and leave, older than him. He’d watched as the gangs started occupying the skate park, watched as a place of fun and skill had turned into a minefield of hypodermic needles and blood patches. Sometimes he’d still sit on the bench, thinking about the opportunity long passed to ever learn to skate. It was such a simple dream- he didn’t care if he never knew any tricks, he just wanted to skate. He figured he never could. 

Until one day, a boy cleared up the skate park, with thick gloves and a litter picker. He seemed sad, lonely. Will didn’t question it- he was probably doing community service. But then he returned the next day, awkwardly carrying a skateboard at his front. He put it down, and shakily put a foot on it. He was just about getting his balance, barely moving at all and wobbling. He was just like Will, Will thought, trying to find freedom and fun, learning, trying to find his place in the world. He fell a few times, stayed until it was getting dark. Will kept coming back, and so did the boy. Weeks passed, until he could just about steer on flat ground. He was still nervous on the board. Will kept thinking about how that could have been him. Until finally, he walked over to the skate park, sitting on top of the bowl thingy. Will didn’t know what it was called. 

The boy arrived at the skate park a small while after Will had sat down, and he seemed nervous. Will looked around and smiled softly. “Sorry,” the boy said quietly, “do you uh- mind if I uh… skate here?”

“Of course not!” Will said quickly, “I uh- I always wanted to learn how to skate, but I never had the chance to…”

“Oh…” the boy said quietly, awkwardly sitting besides Will, “I uh… I can’t really skate…”

“I uh… I see you sometimes… you’re doing great…”

“Thanks,” the boy blushed. 

“Sorry, I’m a little anxious,” Will huffed, nervously tapping his leg. “I thought skating might help with my anxiety…”

“I uh… I started skating to get me out of bed of a morning,” the boy replied, “I have depression…”

“Does… it help?”

“A little,” the boy said, “it gets me outside. To go outside I have to wake up, get dressed, shower, exercise. So it helps me to keep on top of self care.”

“I wanted to be a doctor,” Will said quietly, “but I just… I’m too anxious to get through calculus, let alone get through college and work…” 

“Maybe one day,” the boy said softly, “maybe you can’t do those things right now, but one day you might be able to. Don’t give up. Accept your limitations but don’t give up on your dreams. Adjust the path you take, move the goals closer if you have to, but don’t think you’re incapable when you don’t know if you ever will be.”

“Where’d you read that,” Will asked with a small smile. 

“I learned it myself,” the boy said, “I had to drop out of school. I uh… I had a rough life and uh… I had to let go of a lot of dreams, put them on hold. I almost give up all the time, but that’s… that’s okay, because I haven’t. I don’t always succeed, but I try.”

“Do you think you could like… teach me to skate?” Will asked, although the anxiety was dizzying at this point.

“Sure,” the boy said, “I’m Nico, by the way.”

“I’m Will,” he replied, and Nico stood slowly, holding out his hand. Will accepted, and Nico helped him to his feet, placing his board on the floor. 

“You’ve gone pale,” Nico noted. 

“Nausea from the anxiety,” Will explained, “I always feel like I’m gonna throw up or die so… I’m okay.”

“Oh. Oof,” Nico frowned, “will you be okay?”

“I will,” Will replied, with a small smile at his name pun, and Nico gestured to the board. Will put his foot on it, and Nico instinctively held his waist to stop him from falling. Will blushed, unable to hide it, and tried to put his other foot on the board. He lost his balance and sent the board rolling forwards without him, but it was okay, because Nico was there to catch him.

SOCIAL MEDIA

(based on The Circle, a social media based reality show. Nico and Will are catfish and play as two of my OCs. catfishing, but in a game situation where you are aware people may not be themselves, no consequences. A TV gets broken, brief mention of alcohol)

Will was busy napping on the couch when the alert came through on the screen. He sat up immediately, rubbing his eyes in a failed attempt to see the screen. Once he could see again through the sleep, he read the message- it was time to rank all the contestants. It was only the second day in the circle, and Will was hoping to get ranked first or second so he could become an influencer. Mainly because he wanted to get Percy out of the equation because Jay seemed to talk to Percy a lot and he was apparently a vet, who owned several husky puppies, and spent his time volunteering at an animal shelter. So Will ranked Jay first and Percy last, and randomly assigned everyone else- he didn’t mind Lou Ellen so she ranked second for Will. Once he’d ranked everyone, he had to wait to see the rankings- and when he did, he panicked. He was ranked last, and Percy and Annabeth were the influencers. They flirted a lot in the circle chat, and everybody seemed to like them a lot. He’d only seemed to make friends with Jay- Will loved animals after all, and Will was a junior doctor, so he related to the med school stress.

Will opened up the circle chat, but he just stared for a moment- he had no idea how to fit in. “Uh… Circle, write… hey guys, I ranked last, laughing emoji, hashtag big emo hours. Send message.” He waited anxiously, and Jay messaged first.

‘Don’t be disheartened, Drew, it could be anyone who leaves, rankings don’t mean anything’.

“Who the fuck is Drew?” Will mused, then the penny dropped. “Oh wait shit that’s me, uh… circle, write… aww thanks Jay, it means a lot. No delete that, put… thanks mate, this is worse than the time I got kicked out of an MCR concert for being drunk. Laughing emoji, hashtag big idiot hours.”

The reply came relatively slowly, but finally Jay replied. ‘Oof, sad boi hours, I can’t imagine being kicked out of a concert, but the once I found a stray kitten at a concert so I left early to take care of it.’ Will squealed.

“Circle, message a keysmash. Like just a bunch of random letters from the middle row.” Will watched a keysmash appear and sent it, then realised how lame it looked on it’s own. “Circle, message in capitals I LOVE KITTIES RAWR XD!” Will cringed as soon as it was sent and left the chat quickly.  
\---

Nico stared blankly at the screen. What even was that reply? He didn’t know. But Drew had yeeted himself out of the chat. Nico decided to be bold and open a private chat with Drew, waiting for him to pick up. It had took Nico all his willpower not to scream when Will mentioned MCR. After all, Jay, his catfish ego, liked pop music or classic rock. But Nico’s emo heart was already falling for Drew. Drew finally opened the private chat, and Nico realised he had no idea what to say. “Circle, please message uh… I just wanted to see how you were coping uh… after the uh… shit I forgot the word, what’s the word? Rankings! That’s the word! Circle delete that, start again. Hey Drew, I just wanted to see how you were feeling after the rankings, that was brutal. For the record, I ranked you first. Uh… circle add a kiss. Send. NO SHIT WAIT- too late… merda!” Nico groaned, attempting to smother himself with a pillow, bright red. He waited in agony, until finally, a message came through. 

‘Is that a kiss?’

“CHE CAZZO! MERDA! IDIOTA! OH FUCK WHAT HAVE I DONE! ABORT, ABORT, KILL ME, ABORT!” Nico dramatically threw himself into a box to hide, screaming into his fist and wishing himself to wake up from this nightmare. Then he realised he had to reply and cried out in despair and desolation from the sheer embarrassment. “Circle, write yes. Send. WAIT MERDA NO I MEANT NO OH FUCK I WANNA DIE I GIVE UP OH FUCK!”

The reply happened. ‘Thanks bby xoxo XD x’ Nico threw his croc at the screen and screeched. The fuckning was upon him. He’d accidentally flirted and now the guy was flirting back and the guy was probably going to be kicked out and he’d probably choose to meet Nico. “FUCK I’VE NEVER GOTTEN BEYOND THE YEARNING FROM A DISTANCE PHASE! CHE CAZZO?!” Nico screeched again, and realised he’d broken the monitor. He continued to screech and wail in despair and embarrassment, deciding never to go outside ever again out of fear that the public would recognise him from the show.  
\---

Nico was terrified. Drew had been blocked from the circle, and Nico just knew that Drew would be coming to meet him, and he was absolutely terrified. So he did what any rational person would do. Drenched himself in cologne, scraped his hair back in a man bun, and downed two glasses of wine. And then, the door knocked. He shrieked, then slowly opened the door- and stared. The man looked nothing like Drew’s profile. He was ten times hotter. Nico craved death. He couldn’t speak. “YOU’RE NOT EMO!” He yelled.

“YOU’RE SOME GERARD WAY WANNABE!”

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT IS, CLEARLY!”

“TRUE BUT ARE WE JUST GONNA YELL OR CAN I COME IN?”

“YES COME IN BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?”

“Will Solace…” he answered quietly, suddenly shy. Then Nico remembered he was terrifying and he’d probably scared his crush so much Nico would be alone for the rest of his life.

“I’m Nico di Angelo. Alcohol?”

“Yep, hit me with that fermented grape juice!”

“First off, this is cherry and elderflower wine. Secondly, apparently we’re both catfish. Thirdly, we flirted and you’re too pretty to look at. Also damn alcohol makes me honest, pretty boy.” 

Will blushed and made incoherent noises. “You really think I’m pretty?”

“Uh, yeah, especially the freckles, fuck, shit, why am I saying this?”

“Thanks,” Will blushed, “you’re uh- you’re pretty too.”

“You know what,” Nico began, “fuck it. I’m gonna kiss you.”

WAKE UP MARRIED

(mentions of alcohol, no sex has taken place before or after they wake because they are drunk)

Nico groaned, his head pounding. He knew the feel of a hangover anywhere, and he figured he must have gotten pretty drunk. He rolled over to see Will still sleeping beside him, smiling and reaching out to brush a curl away from Will’s face. Will rolled over with a groan, facing Nico. “It’s too bright,” Will complained. 

Nico groaned in agreement. “Then turn the sun off.”

“I’m too lazy to turn the sun off,” Will mumbled, and Nico groaned again, waving his arm up as if he could somehow make the sun go away.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Nico mumbled, and Will hummed solemnly in agreement.

“I don’t even know what day it is,” Will murmured, and Nico huffed in agreement before slowly sitting up.

“Why am I in a suit,” Nico mumbled, looking down at his body- he was wearing a very creased black suit, that he guessed looked fancy, but his vision was blurred by his headache and tiredness.

“I don’t know, you’re weird, babe,” Will murmured, shifting slightly. “Wait, why am I in a suit?” Will looked down at his powder pink suit, and black tie, and Nico’s black suit and pink tie. “Babe, these are our wedding suits.”

“Why the fuck are we in our wedding suits,” Nico questioned, and Will reached across Nico to get his phone, wincing as the screen lit up. Nico hissed like a vampire at the brightness, squeezing his eyes shut with a pained whimper.

“Babe you’re not gonna believe this,” Will gasped, and Nico let himself fall to the side, uncomfortably falling over Will- but he was too hungover to care. “Babe, the wedding was tomorrowday. I mean- yesterday.”

“Wait…” Nico groaned, shifting and squirming until he was no longer half over Will, resting his head against Will’s chest instead. “What?”

“The wedding was yesterday.”

“Fuck… I remember nothing,” Nico announced, and Will made a sad noise, putting an arm around Nico.

“I think we overdid it with the alcorolol.”

“Gee, you think(?) Fuck, I think I’m still drunk… You’re definitely still drunk.”

“We didn’t consummate the marriage,” Will mumbled,and Nico lightly hit his chest.

“I’d throw up if we tried,” Nico huffed, “plus I’m still out of it on vodka."

Will hummed in agreement, curling Nico’s hand into a fist and poking his finger through it. “There, it’s consummated, you have been penetrated, now goodnight,” Will mumbled, and Nico half laughed before his stomach rolled. 

“I’m gonna throw up!”

THEATRE

(poverty, rich, mention of a stroke)

Will was stressed. He wanted badly to pursue acting, loved watching plays. His favourite was Pirates of Penzance, and he often found himself singing the songs under his breath. He wanted to be in it one day, but for now, he’d settle for quietly singing to himself when he was sitting in the drama room at lunch waiting for his LAMDA exam. He was going for Grade 5, Acting. He’d memorised the monologue from the book, and he’d picked out a monologue from Pirates of Penzance, and he knew all the terminology he needed to know. He only hoped that he could recite them well. He’d worked his way up, but he knew he wouldn’t get beyond Grade 5- after all, his Spanish lessons were requiring memorisation of whole essays for controlled assessments and for the upcoming speaking exam, so he wouldn’t have time to learn up to three monologues at a time. He knew he’d never be more than the kid who did a few school plays when he was eleven then stopped to focus on work. He knew he’d never be an actor. He knew he’d never be on stage, or on TV. He’d be the kid with a Grade 5 Acting certificate sitting out of place amongst academic grades. 

He wasn’t the only one sitting in the drama room waiting. He’d been called down early, so some of his peers were there too. But there were also people from other schools there waiting and rehearsing with each other. Will was content to wallow in his nauseating anxiety until a boy tripped over Will’s bag and his headphones pulled out, blasting Boy Division by MCR. Will had never met another boy in his school who listened to the same music as him- and even better, this boy was cute. “I’m really sorry,” Will apologised, “I shouldn’t leave my bag there!”

“It’s okay,” the boy said quickly, scrambling to plug his headphones back in before he could get into trouble. Will could hear an accent there, and the boy’s velvety smooth vocal tones were making Will’s knees weak. 

“What grade are you taking today,” Will asked curiously.

“Uh, I already have taken them all. I am hoping to earn my diploma today.”

“Oh wow,” Will said unintelligently, because he was smooth that way.

“I hope to find a theatre group here, maybe get involved in some productions. I was in a production of HMS Pinafore and Trial by Jury all last month but the uh…” the boy clicked his fingers as if trying to recall the word, then seemed to light up when he found it, “techie! The techie had a fall and is unlikely to recover well, so we are discontinuing out of respect. Uh… a stroke, they had a stroke. We’re going to do one last performance to finish off and dedicate it to them. The only problem is that I am not ready to end my theatre career so I will be needing to find another group to join.”

“I’ve always wanted to do theatre!” Will beamed, about to start gushing about everything, but then he remembered that the techie had suffered a stroke. “Also I’m sorry about your techie.”

“They will be okay, and thank you. Why have you not done theatre?”

“Most theatre groups are volunteers and I can’t afford to do that. Plus I have to work two jobs and schoolwork and I can’t find the time. I have to give up on theatre and drama because it’s extracurricular and I just don’t have the time.”

“Is it your dream?”

“Yeah,” Will replied, trying not to let his smile drop.

“Then why give it up?”

“No time, no money. Capitalism. No art talent to do commissions and get money. The usual.”

“Ah, of course. If you need some cash I can help you out.”

“I can’t handle another job.”

“My dad is rich and we do not need all the money so my favourite thing to do to annoy my dad is to leave money on donation pages and give money to those who need it. Free cash, no strings attached. Resources should be shared. You need money and I need to rebel against my dad. You’d really be doing me a favour.”

“Oh I- I can’t just take your money-”

“Why not? I don’t need it, you do, capitalism sucks, and hoarding money you do not need is pointless.”

“But I can never repay you.”

“Your smile is payment enough, pretty boy. I’m Nico, by the way. Nico di Angelo.” Nico’s name was called, and he gave Will a sideways smirk. “The side door at the local theatre will be open, and there’s a free seat at the front. I hope I have the privilege of seeing your pretty face once more.” Nico winked and walked away, leaving Will flustered and hopeful.

HALLOWEEN SONG/ HALLOWEEN MOVIE INSPIRED (All Hallows Evil- Fearless Vampire Killers)

(nsfw references, no sex, but there is execution (beheading) and revenge (fire). I adapted the plot of the song slightly, please go check it out and check out the lyrics!) 

Nico never expected it to turn out like this, hands tied in ropes behind his back, a black sack over his head. Everybody knew him from the coffee shop- he had one of the best trade deals with some relatives, so everybody in town would go to him for coffee- an exotic drink, something foreign and rare. A sign of riches, no doubt. The Duke Apollo would often visit with the “apple of his eye”- he doted on his son, his heir, showed him off every chance he got, his perfect, quiet, polite, chaste son. Will Solace was handsome, beautiful even, and Nico had soon discovered that Will was not as innocent as he seemed and certainly not as innocent as the Duke thought- Will had a taste for the bad, the very bad, the downright sinful premarital acts Nico had never even imagined he would indulge in, pleasures of flesh Nico knew would have his father turning in his grave. Will loved spending his nights with Nico, or visiting him during his breaks to defile the coffee shop. Nico loved taking him out to the markets in peasant’s clothes- Will liked cash, and Nico had plenty. Everything was going perfectly- perfectly secret, perfectly intimate, perfectly private- until the Duke found them bedded. And that was how Nico ended up with a foot pressed into his knees until he knelt and bent forwards over a stone block, waiting to be beheaded on orders of the Duke after being arrested by the Sheriff. 

Nico imagined the mansion as he closed his eyes, imagined tearing the Duke’s mansion down with his bare hands, gasoline claws, to see the pretty mansion turn into a furnace.

The axe fell. Searing pain, hot, cold, still conscious, waiting for it to fade to black and brimstone…

But Hell never came. He found himself, muted, in the crowd, seeing his head on the block, seeing the last tendrils of flesh being severed. The crowd were intent, watching like carrion crows to their prize. The Duke cheered as Nico’s head fell, preaching that it was just, that this was justice. But Nico watched silently, watched Will weeping, screaming out for his lover, hysterical watching the bloodbath. Was that truly justice, or was it control, power, bigotry? Nico didn’t care. Rich Boy was going to combust for this.

Nico waited, waiting until All Hallows Eve, following the Duke around, making promises, to stalk the halls, to haunt, to never let him forget. He just had to wait until that fateful night. He found himself in Will’s chambers, promising, because Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Samhain, whatever you called it- on that fateful night, he’d be gifted one more chance to reave. He wrote in his own blood on the Duke’s walls, “vengeance, all the masks in all the world, can’t hide the guilt your conscience holds”. Oh, Nico waited. He waited until that night, and he didn’t hold back. You reap what your sew- a life for a life. And Nico wanted his lover back, and revenge didn’t bring him back, not until a decade, at least.

FREE DAY- MOTHMAN

(mildly creepy atmosphere, affectionate mothman)

Will was terrified. Partly because it was so dark he couldn’t see his own hand, and partly because Lou Ellen and Cecil had roped him into cryptid hunting. He was sure this was going to go horrendously wrong and they were going to get eaten by monsters. To make matters worse, he always glowed when nervous.

And that’s when they began to hear a faint buzzing.

“Oh no…” Will sighed, stress only making his glow brighter. Something moved in the shadows and Cecil screamed. Will whimpered and froze, and Lou-Ellen turned her torch in the direction of the movement, but saw nothing. 

“Let’s keep moving,” Lou-Ellen prompted.

“The sooner we get out of here, the better,” Cecil confirmed. Will nodded feverently.

“Nu-uh, you wimps, we’re going that way!” She pointed to where the movement had been, and Will whimpered again.

“I sincerely hope this is just my brother playing tricks on us,” Cecil replied, and Lou-Ellen snorted.

“We’d already have heard him giggling, it’s not him, I think we found a cryptid!” Lou-Ellen bounced in glee, and Will glowed more in his nerves.

More buzzing. 

Leaves rustling.

And whatever it was, was getting closer.

“Mummy I’m scared,” Cecil squeaked, and Lou-Ellen turned off her torch, slowly backing away. And then Will’s anxiety decided to be a little bitch and keep him petrified to the spot in fear. 

And then it happened.

Out of nowhere, something large and black was flying at him, and Will couldn’t even scream. It hit him with a loud thud, winding him, and Will prepared for fangs or claws to attack-

But it… buzzed happily? And nuzzled his cheek?? Lou-Ellen was laughing hysterically and Celic was taking pictures. Will hadn’t even realised that he’d closed his eyes until he slowly peeled them open, glowing red eyes looking into his blue ones. The cryptid continued to nuzzle at Will, and that’s when Will noticed furred wings, antennae, very long legs- 

Holy shit they’d found mothman.

“Uh… hi…?”

“Lamp,” mothman growled out, pressing himself firmly against Will and tightly wrapping his wings around him. Will wanted to be scared, but quite frankly, he was touch starved. And the cuddle was quite nice.

“So uh… you gay?”

“Oh my gods Will no,” Lou-Ellen protested in horror.

“Will what the fresh fuck,” Cecil exclaimed quietly.

Mothman buzzed and nuzzled Will’s cheek again. 

“Wanna be my boyfriend?” Will asked. Lou-Ellen facepalmed. Cecil groaned. 

Mothman buzzed again, nuzzling Will’s cheek even more. “Lamp!”

“Is… that a yes?” Mothman buzzed in the affirmative, and Will realised that mothman was now his boyfriend. “Do you have a name?” 

Mothman buzzed again, pressing a wing to Will’s chest. “Lamp,” then placed his wing on his own chest, “Moth.”

“Well my name’s Will,” Will said softly.

“Will Lamp,” mothman buzzed happily, cuddling tighter. “Nico Moth!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Nico!” Will beamed. Then it slowly dawned upon him. His friend was called Nico. His best friend. And mothman looked suspiciously like him. “Wait a minute…” 

Lou-Ellen and Cecil couldn’t contain their giggles, and that’s when it occurred to Will that Nico had been turned into mothman and this was all a prank on them both. He wanted to be mad, but honestly, Nico was now his boyfriend, so he didn’t mind much at all, really.

MORTAL SUMMER CAMP

(angst, anger, kisses, internalised homophobia mention, working through personal issues, panic)

Nico was rather very content at the mortal summer camp. As much as he missed sword training, he loved to watch Will. Will was a natural with the younger kids and had made friends with the majority of the older kids. Currently, Nico was sat on a grass mound resting his chin on his hand, deliriously and dreamily smiling to himself as he watched a shirtless Will firing arrow after arrow at the archery target and hitting the bullseye every time. Godsdammit, Nico thought, why does he have to be so hot? And more importantly, why did he have to catch feelings for his only friend? Nico sighed, ripping out a patch of grass and angrily throwing it, scowling. He was aware that the grass had started dying around him, but he didn’t particularly care. He was in love with his only friend, and his friend was painfully straight, and now they were on a demigod recruitment mission together.

Nico tore his gaze away from Will as the instructor made her way over, holding out a bow and arrow. “Come on, don’t you wanna join in?”

“No,” Nico grumbled, picking up a handful of brittle dead grass and throwing it at his feet.

“Why not,” she asked, sitting besides him. Nico huffed, hugging his knees.

“Don’t feel like it,” Nico shrugged.

“Your friend seems to enjoy it,” she said, and Nico froze for a second, before returning to picking at the grass.

“He’s a stupid show-off,” Nico grumbled, accidentally sumoning a crow skull. He picked it up, hiding it in his pocket.

“So what I’m hearing is you don’t want to participate because of the other boy, am I right?”

“No!” Nico protested defensively, aware of the darkening shadows. 

“Then help me understand what’s wrong, so I can help.”

“I don’t need help,” Nico sulked, “and it’s nothing to do with him, my sister-”

“HEY!” Will was running full pelt towards them, bow and quiver slung over his shoulder. He was sweaty, glowing softly, and Nico found himself blushing puce.

“What do you want, Solace?”

“Did you see me? I hit the bullseye with every arrow!”

“Very good,” Nico replied awkwardly, and Will beamed, giggling.

“Aren’t you gonna have a turn, death boy?”

“No,” Nico frowned, “it’s stupid.”

“Okay,” Will shrugged, sitting down, “we’re going rock climbing next! And then there’s an obstacle course! I should be good at that!”

“Yay,” Nico said unenthusiastically, and Will sat besides him, leaning back on his hands. Nico couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles rippled, before forcing himself to look away out of respect. 

“Why don’t you wanna take part in anything,” the instructor asked, and Nico huffed in annoyance.

“I just… I just don’t want to! This is boring for me!”

“Boring? All of this?” The instructor regarded him curiously, and Nico shrugged. “Maybe if you give it a try it won’t be so boring.”

“Leave me alone!” Nico huffed, storming off. He didn’t have anywhere in particular in mind, partly because he had no idea where he was going, so he just wandered back to the cabins. 

He just needed to think, or at least, he thought he did. But thinking soon turned into overthinking, which soon turned into irrational thinking. By the time Nico had realised that he was panicking, he was already convinced that Will was a homophobe and Nico was destined to be alone forever. He had to stop himself and try to rationalise- which inevitably backfired because logic isn’t at its strongest when you’re distressed. So Nico tried to distract himself, but distracting himself only made him associate his distractions with his negative thoughts. 

So he just let himself feel instead. He let himself wallow for a while in self pity, thinking about how lonely he was and how he wished he could be loved and stay true to himself. He allowed himself to think about how the years of self hatred had affected his ability to form healthy friendships, and how he’d skewed his perception of himself. He allowed himself to grieve for missed teenage years of stolen kisses and fast food dates that he’d never had like the others his age, like people whose love was never taboo, never came with a bounty of death should you be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He allowed himself to hurt, and he allowed himself to process how much of his pain was caused by himself. He allowed himself to slowly realise that it didn’t have to be so painful, that he didn’t have to hate himself or hide. It was okay to be gay. It was normal to have crushes. It wasn’t wrong or predatory to simply find somebody attractive. He kept telling himself that it was okay, that who he was was okay, that maybe he’d never get his teenage years back, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t experience the cheesy immature dates and awkward first kisses. He could talk to his friends about his crush, and he could joke around with them. He realised how much his past traumas had contributed to the way he viewed himself, and he realised that he couldn’t keep pushing on like nothing had happened. He allowed himself to admit that he was traumatised, struggling, that he needed help, needed to pause life and rest. He felt calm and apathetic with the exhaustion of it all.

He didn’t react when the door knocked softly and Will walked in. Nico was lying flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Will sat beside him, then lowered himself to lay on his side besides Nico. “I don’t think you’re okay,” he said gently, brushing a strand of Nico’s hair away from his eyes, “you’ve been crying.”

“Yeah,” Nico admitted quietly, and Will smiled sadly. 

“I feel like something’s really eating away at you, Nico,” he said softly, and Nico took a deep breath, turning his head to face Will.

“Maybe,” he admitted, and Will smiled sadly again.

“I know you have issues with opening up, and I’m guessing this is something really big, so would it help if I told you something really personal?”

“If this is about the mole, I swear to the gods-”

“It’s not, I promise.” Will huffed a laugh, and Nico managed a small smile.

“You can tell me,” Nico said quietly. 

“I’m gay,” Will admitted quietly, and Nico breathed out in relief.

“Me too,” he admitted, because finally- finally, he didn’t feel like the only one who knew what it felt like to be gay. He could talk to Will and Will would understand. As supportive as Jason was, it was difficult for him to understand exactly how Nico’s experiences had affected his sense of identity and his self views. Will would understand.

“Is that what’s been bothering you,” Will asked quietly, and Nico nodded. “You’re not broken or unloveable, Nico. We’re not broken.”

“It’s hard to remember that sometimes,” Nico replied quietly, and Will reached out for his hand, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles across Nico’s knuckles. Nico fought down a blush. 

“I might be misreading and overstepping here,” Will began softly, “and feel free to put all your boundaries back up, but…” Will closed his eyes, his lips moving like he was trying to say something, rehearsing it. Nico tried not to think about kissing those lips. “I don’t think we’ve just been friends for a while now, have we?”

“We haven’t,” Nico admitted nervously, fighting back a blush as Will turned pink to the tips of his ears. 

“I think we’re something more than friends, Nico,” Will uttered softly.

“Me too,” Nico whispered back gently.

“I think I’m in love with you, Nico,” Will admitted, and Nico almost started crying. Love. He was loved. He wasn’t a worthless unlovable nobody. He was loved, and loved by Will.

“I think I’m in love with you too,” he replied, and Will slowly reached out to cup Nico’s cheek in his hand. Nico leaned into the touch and rolled onto his side to face Will. He was so close, and he was looking at Nico’s lips like he wanted to kiss them, looking into Nico’s eyes like he was gazing into Elysium.

“Can I kiss you,” Will asked, quietly and respectfully.

“Yeah,” Nico whispered hoarsely, blushing puce. Will leaned forwards slowly, his breath barely ghosting Nico’s lips as they met with the faintest of touches. Will’s breath hitched, and Nico felt like his face was on fire. Will tentatively applied pressure to the kiss, and Nico gasped. He wanted this, wanted the affection, the tenderness, revelling in the sensation of another man’s lips. There was something so intimate about this, so gentle, so tender. Something so thrilling about the taste of rebellion, the taste of what was once illegal, the taste of a love so pure and innocent that Nico felt right. He was still scared of pink triangles and hateful words, but love? No, he couldn’t fear love anymore, not when it felt like this, not when he took Will’s bottom lip between his own and lightly sucked, not when Will tangled his fingers in Nico’s hair in the most intoxicating way. Not when Will’s calloused palm brushed over the stubble on Nico’s jaw and certainly not when he kissed Will a little deeper, grazing his lip with his tongue. They were rough and chapped and Nico was drowning in all things masculine, all things Will. He let himself tangle his fingers in Will’s blonde curls, let himself trace his fingertips over Will’s faint stubble, let himself pay attention to the strong muscles Will had so tenderly holding him closer to his body. Nico sighed in bliss, because finally, love felt right. 

So maybe, as they pulled apart, it hadn’t been fireworks and butterflies. But it was tender and loving and domestic. The sound of rain outside soothed Nico’s anxiety, the sound of blood rushing through his ears, the sound of Will’s soft breathing, all of it, made it feel like it was just the two of them. Nico moved gently to rest his head on Will’s chest, and Will wrapped a strong arm around Nico’s shoulder. He inhaled slowly, breathing in the scent of his lover, revelling in the way the masculine musk of sweat made his heart rate pick up. It was okay to be attracted to boys.

CROSSOVER- SANDERS SIDES

(Percy is Thomas, Annabeth is Logan/logic, Frank is Patton/ morality, Will is Roman/ Creativity, Nico is Virgil/ Anxiety, Octavian is Remus/ Intrusive thoughts, Ethan is Deceit (The characterisation will be a mix of the pjo characters and the sanders sides characters so things will be ooc) (mentions of drowning and fires, innuendos from Octavian, Octavian getting hit with a ukulele, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, deceit.))

Percy had a headache and the primary cause of it was the sides arguing at 3am about what he should do about the upcoming swimming competition.

“It’s obvious he should just quit,” Nico argued, “because what if he drowns?”

“He’s not going to drown, he’s a great swimmer!” Frank argued. 

“I mean statistically speaking-” 

“See, Annabeth agrees with me, he’s going to die!” Nico interrupted. 

“Actually, I was going to say that-”

“You agree with me, shut up.”

“Actually, I do not-” Nico interrupted Annabeth by hissing like a cat. “Did you just hiss at me?”

“Well duh.”

“Guys, I don’t think the arguing is helping Percy to sleep,” Frank said quietly, and of course, Octavian appeared.

“Maybe that’s because of the juicy thoughts he’s having right now,” he said with a demented grin. 

Nico groaned, pulling his hood up. “What are you doing here, Octavian, what have you done?”

“Oh, nothing,” Octavian grinned, “I’ve just given him the rather funny image of his friends burning in a car he set on fire!”

“That’s horrible!” Frank exclaimed, and Nico death glared at Octavian.

“Then make him un-think it,” Nico demanded.

“Whatever you say!” Octavian grinned, filling everyone’s minds with the image of Percy drowning everybody. 

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” Nico yelled, the anxiety distorting his voice and making it echo round the headspace. “And where’s Will?”

“I killed him!” Octavian announced with a shrug and an unsettling chuckle. 

That’s when Will began to sink in, holding a ukulele. “CAIN INSTINCT!” He yelled, whacking Octavian round the head and standing proudly as he crumpled to the floor.

“Thank you,” Nico said with a sigh, his anxiety easing a little. 

“You’re welcome, my chemically imbalanced romance!” Nico pulled a sarcastic face at Will, who just smiled. 

“Hi, Princey,” Annabeth greeted, and Will grinned. 

“Whaddup, nerdy Wolverine?”

“If you are referring to what is up, I would say that when a lever-”

“It’s nice to see you too,” Will interrupted.

“Hey Princey, can you tell Nico that Percy won’t drown tomorrow?” Frank requested, and Will nodded.

“Nico, Percy probably won’t drown tomorrow.”

“Ah- see, he said probably, he agrees with me, Percy’s going to drown because he’s a failure!” Nico replied.

“No, you are twisting my words-”

“As I was trying to say, statistically speaking, whilst unlikely, there is always a chance that Percy could drown,” Annabeth explained, “the odds of which are-”

“Okay, we get the picture, he’s going to drown,” Nico interrupted, and Percy entered the headspace.

“Guys, what is going on?”

“You’re going to drown tomorrow because you’re a failure who has a weak backstroke and you’re going to die because you’re such a failure and you’ve been terrible at swimming all this time and you’re lying to yourself.”

“DECEIT!” Frank yelled, pointing at Nico, who just glared.

“I’m not Deceit, you idiot,” he replied.

“What the hell, Nico,” Percy groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry about Joyless Division over here,” Will began, and Nico mimicked his tone of voice sarcastically. “I mean you already know the risks of drowning, but you haven’t drowned yet, so that must count for something right? You’ve got to be brave, you go to that competition, and you show those swimmers who the real son of Poseidon is!”

“Thank you, Princey,” Percy smiled, and Nico mimicked that too.

“Wow, you’re really being a pain in the butt today,” Will announced, and Nico gave a thumbs up.

“Maybe that’s exaggerating a little,” Frank intervened, and Annabeth rubbed her temples. 

“None of you are thinking about this logically.”

“Yeah, no shit, that’s your job,” Nico retorted, and Annabeth glared.

“That does not mean that you are all incapable of higher order thinking, but at this point, I’m beginning to wonder if replacing you all with baboons would in fact raise the IQ of this room.”

“You’re a baboon,” Nico bit, sulking. 

“FALSEHOOD!” Annabeth screeched.

“I mean… you could always… lie, and skip the contest?” Frank said, and Nico squinted at him. 

“If he lies it’s proof he’s a terrible person, Percy, tell him how lying makes you feel like a terrible person!” Nico prodded.

“What the hell, Anxiety, what is wrong with you today?” Percy sat down, exasperated and exhausted.

“The Duke, that’s what, he’s poisoning the mindspace with his disgusting drivel and you’re one moment away from being Jeffrey Dahmer.”

“Woah, now that’s an exaggeration,” Will countered, and Nico hissed at him. “Hiss at me all you want, it just makes you look like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum.”

“I’ll bite you!”

“Do you promise?” Octavian grinned from the floor. Will hit him with the ukulele again. 

“So you’re just an overgrown kitty, which sucks, because kitties are adorable.”

“I’m not a kitty- wait did you just call me-”

“I PLEAD THE FIFTH!” Will yelled.

“Guys, stop!” Percy interrupted, “It’s just a swimming competition, like all the others, why are you all being like this?”

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth interrupted, did any of you miss the part where Morality told us to li-” Annabeth suddenly cut off speaking.

“I said no such thing,” Frank defended.

“Wait a minute…” Will realised. “DECEIT! SHOW YOURSELF!”

Frank laughed, before revealing himself as Deceit. “How very smart of you, Will,” he grinned.

“Thank you!”

“I don’t think he was telling the truth,” Annabeth corrected, and Will looked mortally offended.

“What are you doing here, you slippery snake?” Nico spat angrily.

“I’m here to remind Percy that he could simply tell a white lie and get out of the competition, that way, he won’t drown, he’s still unbeaten, it’s a win-win!” Deceit grinned.

“Absolutely not! Percy, you simply cannot listen to these buffoons! You are an excellent swimmer, and you must swim tomorrow! You simply cannot listen to Anxiety and Deceit! I mean he’s emo and he’s literally a nameless snake!”

“I do have a name,” Deceit gasped, before smiling, “it’s Luke.”

“No. No it’s not,” Virgil interrupted, “that’s a lie.”

“Evidently,” Annabeth replied.

“You’re right, it’s Kronos,” Deceit lied.

“Okay, I’m going to tell you to shut the hell up, my Machiavellian nightmare, before I whip your butt!” Will interrupted.

“Kinky!” Octavian butted in. Will hit him with the ukulele again.

“Okay okay- you guys are being ridiculous, I’m bored, I’m done, I’m out,” Nico intervened, sinking out.

“Nico you can’t just-”

“Watch me!”

“Well, I’m not disappointed he’s gone,” Will shrugged.

“Falsehood, but…” Annabeth looked through her vocab cards, “go off I guess.”

“Please never try to use words again,” Will retorted. 

“Guys, I’m going to bed, that’s it, you’re giving me a headache, and I have a competition tomorrow. Goodnight!” Percy looked around the sides. Annabeth nodded in agreement, sinking out next. Deceit rolled his eyes and also left. Octavian was out cold, and Frank was probably still asleep somewhere. Will prepared to sink out. “Before you go,” Percy began, and Will stayed where he was, “thank you.” Will smiled, sinking out proudly.

MYTHOLOGY SWAP

(I have a bit of a bad memory and a lot of anxiety, so I wanted to play it safe, so they’re just Roman. Infection)

“Nico!”

“Hey Will,” Nico began sheepishly, sitting himself down on one of the infirmary stretchers.”

“What in the name of Jupiter have you done this time?” Will sighed heavily, making his way over to one of the cabinets to retrieve a medical kit.

“You know how I finally got my camp tattoo…”

“Yeah…”

“I may have gotten it infected by falling in the mud. And by falling in the mud I mean wading through it working in the Underworld.”

“Oh for the love of gods,” Will sighed in exasperation, “let me see it.” 

Nico rolled up his sleeves to reveal the new tattoo, and sure enough, it was infected. It was red and hot to touch, swollen, and with a light squeeze, the burned welts opened and oozed puss and blood, black and yellowing flesh just below the swelling revealing itself with a pungent odor. Nico turned pale at the sight. “Is it bad?”

“Well,” Will began, tilting his head, “I mean it’s not good. I’ll have to cut away infected and necrotic tissue and stitch it, so you’ll probably lose the mark beyond scars.”

“So I’ll lose the tattoo?”

“Yep. You will.”

“Then back off, I stayed a year at camp, I earned this,” Nico whined, and Will folded his arms stubbornly.

“Pluto isn’t a planet,” Will said with a smirk.

“Viva la Pluto, fuck you,” Nico snarled in response. 

Will chuckled to himself, looking Nico up and down. “I reckon you owe me a week in the infirmary at least.”

“I have a legion to run,” Nico retorted, “unlike you, in fifth legion, and even then you’re the runt of the litter, Solace!”

“If anyone’s the runt of the litter it’s you, di Angelo. And that’s because you’re just a very mean kitty!” Will stuck his tongue out and Nico rolled his eyes with a scoff.

“Then don’t try to pet me because I bite.”

“Babey,” Will beamed, and Nico folded his arms.

“You’re a jerk, Solace.” Will giggled and glowed, and Nico found himself blushing puce and hiding a smile. “Dammit, you’re an adorable jerk,” he amended, and Will beamed. 

“Are you gonna let me treat this? I know it sucks that I’ll have to remove most of the tattoo, but you’ll have it in scars instead and that’s pretty cool!” Nico sighed and held his arm out for Will to heal, and before he knew it, he was being stabbed violently with a needle and promptly passed out.

When he came round again, Will had already bandaged his arm and he was just taking his gloves off. “Why’d you do that to me,” Nico groaned, and Will giggled.

“Standard procedure. I’ve given you some antibiotics to take, they’re in your bag, and you’ll have to avoid pretty much everything, especially the baths. And you gotta not get dirt in the wounds. And if you so much as feel hot, you gotta come straight back here.”

“I thought you wanted me to stay for a week,” Nico sarked, and Will lightly elbowed his shoulder. 

“I also know that if I do that you’ll bite the shit out of me every time I feed you, because you’ve never learned not to bite the hand that feeds you.”

“You’re annoying,” Nico huffed, then smiled and reached for Will’s hand, “although I’m kinda glad I have an excuse to avoid the baths.”

“I thought you’d enjoy the baths,” Will teased, “all the naked muscly men.”

“Ew, gods no,” Nico protested with a laugh, “all the guys who have actually gotten through puberty are absolute animals and I swear I always see the Mars boys walk out of the bathrooms without washing their hands. I know I’m the ambassador to Pluto, and I have to be polite when on official business, but every time they ask me to shake their hands, I cringe.”

“Well I can assure you I always wash my hands, Nico.” Will huffed a laugh, gesturing to the sterile setting around them. 

“Can I get going now?”

“You can,” Will smiled, “but I think you forgot we’re down to visit the Greeks.”

“Oh for the love of the gods please say sike,” Nico groaned, and Will shrugged in agreement. “At least I get to see my sister I guess,” Nico sighed, “and a break from the son of Neptune trying to ask me awkward questions about literally every interaction and my feelings. I’m allergic to feelings. That’s the real reason I’m sick, you made me catch feelings, Solace!”

“Well,” Will laughed, leaning down to kiss his forehead, “I love you too.”

“You’re annoying, you know that? Maybe I should leave you with the Greeks.”

“You leave me with the greeks and I’ll probably come back making you flower crowns.”

“Right, because you totally don’t do that anyway,” Nico chuckled, and Will beamed and glowed. “You’d probably fit in with them.”

“I’m not exactly the most Roman, am I,” Will laughed, and Nico shook his head with a smile. “I feel like I can do more at this camp, though. Also you’re here and you’re hot so who can blame me for staying, really?” Nico laughed, and Will giggled, leaning forwards to capture his lips in a kiss.

RESCUE MISSION

(running away, fear of persecution, acceptance at the end though, suspected kidnapping but no actual kidnapping)

“What?”

“They think I kidnapped you,” Will explained, and Prince Nico blanched.

“Oh... maybe I should have told them I was running away in a letter…”

“There’s a warrant for my death…”

“Oh…” Nico sat down on a rock, looking around the forest. “Maybe I should go back?”

“I can’t go back, Nico, they’ll kill me. Even if you explain that you weren’t kidnapped, we’re… we’re queer, and we’ll be killed… if you go back, you go back alone.” 

“I don’t know what to do…”

“You should go back,” Will said boldly, and Prince Nico looked up at him.

“Then why ask me to run with you? If you do not want me to?”

“I want you to run with me with all of my heart, Nico,” Will said honestly, kneeling on the moss and taking the Prince’s hands, “but you’ll be giving up everything. You won’t just be giving up a title or money. You’ll be giving up the life of dependency and commodities that you’re used to, and you’ll be fleeing with me. I can’t ask you to choose between your life or me. I can’t ask you to give up your family for love.”

“I don’t want you to leave, Will,” Nico said softly, squeezing his hands, “you seem to think I’d be giving up my life by fleeing with you, when in fact I’d be doing the opposite. Being dressed in golden robes of a morning to take a wife who will be forced to marry me when I’m queer, living a lie, being forced to produce a heir, that’s no life, Will, but loving you… loving you is my life. I would pay a thousand crowns just to see you smile and twenty thousand just to make you laugh. I would pay two hundred thousand crowns, the price of a country, to kiss you one last time. I don’t have a life without you. I can live without privilege I didn’t ask for. I can’t live without you.”

“Nico, you’re not leaving privilege for an average fairytale romance. You’re leaving behind privilege for a life of poverty. It’s not worth it, I can’t ask you to do this.”

“You’re not asking me to do this. I’m choosing to do this. We’re running away.” Will was about to protest when he heard a twig break, at which point he hauled Nico up to his feet, running. 

“We gotta hurry!”

“Over there! There’s a hideout, I used to go there when I was little, I made it myself!” Will followed Nico, trusting him fully. Nico lead him to a small, cramped hideout, concealed in a mulberry bush and dug into the ground, made from sticks and held together with mud and hemp twine.

“Impressive,” Will whispered, settling on the floor. To his surprise, the Prince did too, his fanciful robes covered in mud. “Are you not worried about your clothes?”

“They’re cotton and silk, not food or medicine. A little mud never hurt anyone.”

“How common of you,” Will quipped in amusement.

“Whilst I may have a penchant for sugar sculptures and fine wine, I may have ran away before.”

“No way,” Will smirked, “when?”

“When I was ten. After Bianca died of consumption. I survived in a village, sleeping on the streets. You soon learn not to sleep outside the windows of those less well-off for fear the morning waste will land on you. So I slept in the doorway of a bakery, because it was slightly warmer from the ovens. I’d stay in the forest during the day. That’s why I built this hideout.”

“Oh…” Will’s mood sombred, but before he had the chance to apologise for overstepping, the sound of footsteps and rustling leaves settled in his chest into deep set panic.

“Nico?” Nico shushed Will silently, and Will’s blood ran cold. That was the King’s voice. If he opened the door, found them, that would be it, Will would be dead. 

Nico stepped forwards and crossed the space between them, grabbing Will’s face and kissing him passionately. “One last kiss,” he whispered silently. Will nodded, tearing up- he was going to die, that was their last kiss, this was the last goodbye. He didn’t realise he was crying until Prince Nico wiped a tear from his eye, tenderly cupping his cheek, resting his forehead against Will’s. “I’ll see you in Elysium,” he whispered, his voice breaking, and Will let out a long breath. And that was when the door opened.

The King stood there, and Will dared to gaze upon him. If he was going to die, he might as well see the face of the man condemning him to death, give that man a face to haunt his sleep for years to come. He awaited the King’s move, locked in a checkmate, waiting to be taken away, executed, hung, drawn, and quartered. Treason, most likely. He’d be dragged by horse, hung, then gutted, then decapitated, then cut into four. He waited, but the moment of anger never came. He realised Nico’s palm was still cupping his cheek, and he looked back to the Prince, his breath caught in his throat, and Nico looked so terrified, petrified, a relic in time of a boy once happy in love.

“Nico, what is this?” the King demanded. Nico didn’t reply, and Will decided that if he was to die, he might as well fight for Nico’s freedom.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but your son is not to blame for my debauchery. It is me you wish to punish, for defiling your son.”

“That’s not true!” Prince Nico interrupted, “father please, he is the son of a plague doctor, he’s no harm to me! I have not been kidnapped, I absconded with him.”

“I’ll call off the rescue mission when you return to the castle, Nico,” the King announced. 

“No, father,” Nico protested, “not without the guaranteed safety of my consort, and not without him by my side!”

“If I would have known that my silence on the matter would ultimately lead to your untimely departure, I would have spoken on the matter sooner.”

“And I wouldn’t have listened, father,” Nico insisted, and the King raised his hand in a gesture for silence.

“You misunderstood. I was well aware of your dalliances, I was merely operating under the assumption that you would tell me about it when you were ready, not that you would run away with no warning and trigger a countrywide panic with word of your untimely kidnapping.”

“This isn’t some dalliance, father, this is serious. And I’m running away with him. I’m not going to take a wife.”

“You misunderstand me again. I am not going to make you take a wife or return alone. Come back, Nico, and things may continue as they were, if not better. Whilst you will have to conceal your true nature from the public to avoid assassination attempts or usurpers, you will be able to court as many men as you wish in the privacy of the palace.”

“I only wish to court this man, father,” Nico said with a blush, surprised by the King’s acceptance but not about to take that for granted. “His name is William Solace, and I must profess that I do so love him, for he makes my heart grow fonder with every breath, makes every step I take on thorny ground lighter, hoisting me onto his shoulders when I do not have the strength and I am wounded inside. I would marry him if laws would allow.”

“The Privy Chamber would never allow such laws to pass, but what they do not know will not hurt them. Perhaps William should be made a knight. I’m sure he could be your personal bodyguard; at least, for the ears of others that is how he shall be known. Inside the palace, however, he shall be your husband.”

FAIRYTALE

(Not based on any fairy tales in particular because my knowledge is seriously lacking in that department, so I’ve tried to kind of write my own??? Mention of fighting hellhounds and cerberus, mention of arranged marriage but this is not the case in the story)

Once upon a time there was a prince who lived in a palace. But the palace had twisted spires and walls as black as the king’s soul. The prince was trapped, destined to marry a princess as soon as one proved worthy. In order to win the prince’s hand in marriage, the princesses had to prove themselves worthy. 

The King had set up a challenge: The princesses had to fight their way through an army of hellhounds, then defeat the mighty Cerberus. The first princess to do so would marry the prince, and the prince had no say in the matter.

But the Prince didn’t want to marry a princess- the prince dreamed of a handsome prince brave enough to rescue him. He dreamed of a prince as beautiful as the sunrise and as deep as the ocean. He had hoped, once before, that prince Perseus would have rescued him, but prince Perseus had fallen for princess Annabeth instead. Prince Nico yearned in private, heartache and isolation setting deep into his soul.

When princess Bianca had died, the responsibility for producing an heir fell strongly on Nico, and time was running out- the King was old and dying. Nico had unfortunately accepted that one day a princess would battle her way into the tower, and Nico would be forced to marry her and start a family.

The last thing Prince Nico expected was to see a prince covered in dog slobber wearing a dress climbing in through his window in the middle of the night.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” the Prince said loudly, “but I was running away from home and I stopped to pet your dogs. Also please excuse my attire, I was told only princesses were allowed near the tower and I really wanted to pet your dogs so I swapped clothes with princess Reyna!”

“You… didn’t get eaten by the hellhounds?” Prince Nico’s heart was exploding, the prince handsome and brave and kind. Nico didn’t want anybody to slaughter the dogs, and he didn’t expect a prince to pet them, so he had expected to forever be alone or marry a princess who had slain his dogs. 

“Of course not! I played fetch with them and scratched them behind the ears! Then I cried because Cerberus has three heads and I don’t have enough hands. Anyway, why was there a no men rule on petting your dogs?”

“Oh boy,” Prince Nico sighed, preparing to explain, “it’s a long story.” Prince Nico explained to the prince, whose face turned from shock to concern to- smiling? 

“So, I have to marry you now?”

“I uh- I mean uhm…” Prince Nico blushed, averting his gaze, “I doubt you want to marry a prince like me.”

“I’d love to marry a prince!” he exclaimed, “I always dreamed of marrying a handsome prince! I’m Prince Will, by the way!”

“Prince Nico. So um… does this uh… mean you um… want to marry me?”

“I mean if you wanna…”

And they all lived happily ever after. The End.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HALLOWEEN FREE DAY

(fluff mainly, skeleton cats, halloween vibes)

Nico leaned back against Will’s chest, his reading glasses fogging up with the steam from his hot cocoa. The tiny pink and white marshmallows placed in a heart on the top were melting slowly, and so was Nico’s heart. He was wrapped up in one of Will’s oversized sweaters, and a pair of his sweatpants. They were two sizes too big, but comfortable and warm, and more importantly, they smelled like Will, like cinnamon and citrus and antiseptic, a hint of deodorant and musk from sweat. Will had his arms wrapped around Nico’s waist, occasionally pressing soft kisses onto the top of Nico’s head. They were right by the fireplace, curled up together in a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor, propped up by the coffee table. The warmth from the fireplace felt good through the fluffy socks they wore- after a long day in the snow, it was nice to finally be curled up warm and dry.

The Hades cabin was quiet like this- the only noise was the soft sounds of the TV and the occasional sound of children’s laughter from outside- a snowball war seemed appropriate, given the weather. The cabin was decorated with jack-o-lanterns, each one with scented cinnamon and orange candles inside. There were cinnamon buns and cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, and fresh warm Halloween cookies on a plate beside them. They were still warm enough to be malleable and melt in the mouth. There was orange and black tinsel everywhere- and Halloween presents under the tree, Halloween candy decorating the branches. Christmas could sometimes be triggering for Nico given the proximity of Bianca’s death and spending several Christmases on the streets trying to stay alive, but Will loved Christmas. Which is why they’d come up with the perfect solution- doing the traditional Christmas festivities, like the tree and presents- on Halloween instead. Nico was sure Will would love his Halloween present this year. He was currently resting his chin on Nico’s head, reading a book. It was Winnie the Pooh- although a children’s book, the characters all represented very real struggles that they could both relate to, and it held fond memories. Nico had learned to read recently with the books, thanks to his father and Will, and Will had grown up with the books. They both held very fond memories of the stories, so it only seemed appropriate to read them together.

So everything was peaceful, tranquil, an atmosphere of relaxation and domesticity. Both boys were relaxed, and probably settled for the night. They often stayed together in the Hades cabin for cuddles anyway, especially when it was cold. The Apollo kids tended to be a lot more gloomy in the winter, and Will often sought Nico’s comfort. The Apollo cabin was large, full of people, full of noise and drama and teen angst and trauma. But the Hades cabin was muted, calm, quiet, and aesthetic in a completely different way. Nico was his calm chaos, his escape from the everyday mania of the Apollo cabin, an escape from the bright lights and loud instruments and overwhelming everything; a dark and muted- sometimes morose- but always welcoming cabin. The only thing Will didn’t like, however, was the occasional feeling that they weren’t alone, that feeling that you could always feel on the back of your neck when paranoia set in. Sometimes things in the Hades cabin were a little bit on the creepy side, but Will knew it was haunted, and that some days they would be sharing the room with a corpse. Will didn’t expect today’s surprise, however. 

Something tapped his thigh, and Will screamed, clinging to Nico’s bicep, clamping his eyes shut. Nico chuckled, reaching over Will and placing whatever it was in Will’s lap. Will squealed, and Nico took his hand until Will’s squeal faded. “Nico please do not let that be a spider or I swear to the fucking gods I will end you!”

“Just take a look,” Nico said calmly, and Will could hear the smile in his voice. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, and looked down to his lap. 

He immediately started glowing bright amber, gasping. “KITTY!” Nico chuckled, rubbing the head of the skeletal feline currently kneading Will’s thighs and settling on his lap, and Will squealed in delight, flapping his arms in his excitement. “KITTY!”

“I thought you might appreciate the kitties,” Nico smiled, kissing Will’s cheek. Will gently petted the skeleton cat, gently running his fingers over the delicate bones. The texture was both rougher and smoother than he expected, and the skeleton kitty vibrated with a silent purr, making Will giggle.

“Nico, can we keep him?”

“Of course,” Nico replied with a smile, guiding Will’s hand to a position between the eye sockets that made the cat purr harder and lean into his touch. 

The cat remained comfortable on Will’s lap for easily an hour or so, before stretching out and headbutting Nico instead. Will couldn’t help but mentally compare the cat to Nico, who was basically a cat anyways. Nico seemed nervous though, and Will wasn’t sure why. He seemed to have something on his mind. 

Nico was aware that Will could pick up on his anxiety- after all, the bouquet of halloween flowers on the side was starting to wither and decay, and Nico felt a little guilty for that- the black and orange flowers had made his day, and now they were wilting because he was anxious. He felt like the sword of Damocles was above him, so he decided to wait no longer. “Hey Will?”

“Hm? Are you okay, Nico?”

“I uh… do you wanna open your Halloween present now?”

“Is that what’s got you so anxious,” Will asked softly, “because if you’re nervous about whether I’ll like what you’ve got me, I can guarantee I’ll love it, because it’s from you. Anything you buy me will be special to me.”

“You’ll understand,” Nico dismissed, holding the present out to Will. Will beamed at Nico, childlike excitement filling his eyes at the prospect of opening a mystery gift. Nico had wrapped it in so many layers of tape, it took a good ten minutes for Will to manage to unwrap it, at which point there was a small box. Will frowned in curiocity, guessing it must have been cufflinks- probably expensive. 

“How much money did you spend-”

“Just open it,” Nico interrupted anxiously, and Will gave a nervous smile, slowly opening the box. 

“It’s empty,” Will said, examining the box to try and figure out where the contents were. He didn’t stop examining the box until Nico cleared his throat, and Will finally looked over. His breath caught in his throat. Nico was down on one knee, holding out a simple golden band with an embedded yellow diamond. “Oh… my gods,” Will gasped, covering his mouth with his hand, grinning wildly.

“William Solace, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband? Will you marry me?”

“Oh my gods,” Will repeated overwhelmed with joy to the point of happy tears.

“Oh no, you hate it, I- I’m sorry, it’s too soon and-”

“Yes!”

“I know, I’m sorry-”

“No, I mean yes, I will marry you!” Nico looked up and the realisation slowly hit him, his anxious features relaxing into a soft smile, before breaking out into a grin and laughing fondly. Will wrapped him in a tight hug- although not for too long, because he knew Nico was touch averse and he knew where Nico’s boundaries were. Nico cupped Will’s cheek delicately, leaning forwards and softly capturing his lips in a tender kiss, before sliding the ring onto Will’s finger. Will giggled, leaning in for a continuation of the kiss with his fiance. Nico happily obliged.


End file.
